Unification
by MagCat
Summary: AU: When all of the mutants in the mansion are kidnapped by Magneto, it's up to Lance and Kitty, along with an age old prophecy, to save them and the world... More indepth summary inside. Rating for language, R&R, please!
1. Prologue

**Summary:** AU: Everyone thought Apocalypse was defeated once and for all. Wrong. When Apocalypse begins a new reign of assault, it's up to 4 Gods and 4 Goddesses to save the world once and for all. Couples: Lancitty (Lance and Kitty), Romy (Rogue and Remy), Jonda (John and Wanda), Rohne (Roberto/Rahne), Loro (Logan and Ororo), X-ietro (X-23/Lexie and Pietro), and more. Read and Review! Please! It's my first fanfic!

**Disclaimer: **

Me: I do not own the rights to any of these characters, except Thomas Five, the two new Brotherhood members, and all 10 of the X-Sword Team, but of course I don't own anything about Mesmero, but then again, who would? Anyway, they are the personal property of Marvel Inc., which is sad, because I would so love to own the rights to these characters… then I would be rich, and would stop war and famine and poverty and bring peace to everyone and…

Lexie: Get on with it already! (sound of claws heard)

Wanda: Yeah, do get on with it before I hex you! (Wanda's hands begin to glow blue)

Me: All right, all right; jeez… anyway, I don't own X-Men, but if I did, then I could do so many things…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Note! –** This story is alternate universe, so I decided to put in character descriptions to help get you into the personalities and spirit of the characters in my stories. I would definitely recommend reading the descriptions of the X-Sword Team and the two New Brotherhood members, as they are all mine.

Just please try and keep the complaints about them to a minimum! Oh, and if you have more information for me, e-mail me in your reviews! Please and thank you!

Also, I own the rights to Rex, Devon, Mark, Aaron, Leon, Ross, Tyne, Erica, Laura, Opal, Lynn, Brittany, and Thomas Five, as they are my own creations and are my own mutants. However, if I have somehow taken your original mutant and made it mine without my knowledge, then please inform me and I will give you credit.

_**Unification**_

**Prologue**

_**Auschwitz, Germany- 1944**_

The Holocaust. This gruesome event shaped the lives of many, many people, but especially the life of one Erik Lensherr. Erik was about 10 when he and his family were taken to Auschwitz, the worst of the concentration camps, in 1944; the reason being that Erik and his family were Jewish and therefore not part of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich and his "perfect race". Here, they were separated from each other.

As Erik watched his parents being pushed towards a part of the camp that would eventually take them to the labor camps, he tried to break free of the guards holding him. They were trying to herd him and other children to a part of the camp that would put them in a camp like the adults', only theirs was much easier than the one their parents were going.

"Momma! Pappa!" screamed Erik as he struggled to get free. As he watched his parents being taken behind a solid iron fence, he instinctively reached out to the metal with his thoughts. He had always felt a special connection with both metal and magnets.

As he watched in disbelief, the metal gate started to twist and groan. Erik concentrated harder, and the gate started to twist and move more and more in his direction. The soldiers started to panic and tried to drag Erik away like they'd been ordered to do. Erik thought to himself, 'No… I will not be taken away like this! I must help my mother and father!'

With these thoughts, Erik planted his feet as firmly as he could in the mud that the torrential downpour was causing. The soldiers tried to move him, but couldn't budge him. They kept pulling, and Erik could feel his muscles and his whole body begin to throb with the pain and stress being put on him.

'I won't give in…' he thought to himself as he concentrated on keeping himself from being moved and, at the same time, completely destroying the gate that separated him and his parents.

"I will never give up!" Erik screamed, and as he finished yelling, he felt the butt end of a soldier's gun hit his head, and the last thing he saw before losing consciousness was his parents struggling to get free and rush to him. That was the last time he ever saw his parents.

_**Bayville, New York- 1954**_

After the end of World War II, about 10 years before American soldiers were sent into Vietnam (1954), a 19-year-old teenager named Charles Xavier was going to school one day when he stopped suddenly, dropped his backpack on the pavement, and clutched his head as he felt a jolt of pain. He could hear voices of people swirling around in his head to such a degree that he couldn't tell which thoughts were his and which were those of the people around him. Charles somehow knew that he could speak to people telepathically and could place thoughts in their heads and control their minds and actions.

"What's happening to me?" asked Charles nervously as he stared at his hands in order to give his mind something to concentrate on, and in an attempt to rid himself of the thoughts in his head. After a few minutes, Charles breathed a sigh of relief as he once more heard only his own thoughts and no one else's.

'I'll… I'll worry about it later,' thought Charles as he gathered up his dropped backpack and continued on to school.

Later that week, Charles was in a class with a teacher who didn't like him at all. He had gradually been learning what was happening to him on his own, and realized to some extent what he could do, and this included the fact that he could control other peoples' thoughts.

Charles thought, 'I think I'll have a little fun…' Charles then put a thought into the teacher's head that told him he was having a heart attack. The teacher stopped talking about the First World War, dropped the chalk he was using to jot notes on the board, and clutched his chest like he was having a heart attack. He then dropped to the floor, writhing in pain as he was wracked with what he thought to be pain, and an ambulance was called.

It wasn't until later that Charles realized that because of what he had thought of as a harmless prank, his teacher had almost died, and from then on vowed to never use his powers on someone without their permission or unless it was an absolute and complete emergency.

_**Bayville, New York- 1963**_

When Charles was 28 (1 year before he left to fight in the Vietnam War), he met a man with a power that was somewhat similar to his own, in that it made him _different_.

"Greetings, Charles Xavier. I am Erik Lensherr, and I understand that you have a power that classifies you as a mutant. Well, I too have a power," said Erik as he greeted Charles with a bow. Erik then turned to some men, who were working with weights, and raising his arm, he concentrated and picked up a 50-pound weight, but none saw this feat but himself and Charles.

"Amazing!" exclaimed Charles as he watched Erik then put the weight down. "You can help me control the full extent of my power?" he asked as he stared at Erik, who had turned around to face the telepath once more.

"Certainly, as long as you help me with mine," replied Erik as he held out a hand and Charles took it. "We must stick together, Charles. _Mutants_ must stick together," he continued as they hugged and shook hands in friendship.

_**Bayville, New York-1984**_

Over the years they worked together, Charles and Erik became best friends. They built a machine together that they called Cerebro, which was operated by Charles. It amplified Charles' already extensive psychic powers and let him search the minds of any being, human or mutant on Earth, and if he concentrated hard enough, kill them. It allowed them to find any mutants that either had mutant powers that were dormant, or had powers that had already been revealed. They sought out these people and brought them to the Institute for the Gifted, later to be called The Xavier Institute for the Gifted. Here, Charles and Erik taught the young mutants (some of whom died later and some who refused to leave, but were forced to leave anyway) how to harness their powers and how and when to use them responsibly. It was here that Charles and Erik had drastically different ideas.

Erik wanted to eliminate all humankind from the planet so that their kind, mutants, would have nothing to fear. This fit in with his "the strongest will survive, the weak will perish" theory that he had learned from studying the works of Charles Darwin through the years.

"Charles, we need to eliminate the humans," said Erik one day, when he was with Charles in the room that held Cerebro, and stood facing his good friend.

"Why must we?" asked Charles from his wheelchair. When Charles had served in Vietnam, he had walked over a land mine and his legs had been irreversibly paralyzed, so he was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. In addition, the fact that the bomb's radiation had caused him to lose all of his hair didn't really help at all.

"What do you mean, why?" asked Erik, exasperation evident in his voice as he moved away from Charles to face Cerebro and then strode towards it.

"I mean, Erik, that we have to learn how to co-exist peacefully with humans. We must not become like those who murdered so many people in World War II, including your parents," replied Charles as he made his way over towards his friend, reaching out a hand to touch Erik's shoulder.

"Erik, I understand how you feel about getting revenge against the humans for what happened to you, your parents, your race; but the people who did that to you are gone, either dead, in jail, or we have no idea where they are. But revenge is not the answer, Erik," continued Charles as he closed his eyes as he felt Erik's emotions wash over him, and felt revenge, sympathy, anger, and sadness, but knew that these were only Erik's surface emotions; his real ones he kept hidden under strong mental barriers.

"Revenge is the answer, Charles!" exclaimed Erik as he took Charles' hand off his shoulder and turned to face Charles. "You do not understand a thing! And no, don't try to read my mind! Even if manage to get past my mental barriers, you still won't understand how I feel about my family and the human race. I'm sorry, Charles, but if you cannot see my way of thinking, and if you cannot see that I am right, then I am afraid that we will not be able to work together anymore. Our views on the strong vs. the weak, on the mutants and the humans, are just too different, among other things. I support the theory that one day _Homo superior_ will rule over _Homo sapiens_, while you think that they are equals. I am afraid that we can no longer be comrades, Charles, but I do wish to still have a small hint of your acquaintance to argue politics with to remain."

"Of course, but are you sure, Erik?" asked Charles as he looked into Erik's eyes. "You are sure that we cannot work things out?"

"Quite sure, Charles," replied Erik as he began to put his tools away. "I will leave shortly, Charles. I wish you the best of luck with this school, and with the rest of your life, and I will telephone you come Christmas to talk for one night of times gone by."

With these words, Erik put out his hand so Charles could shake it. Charles took the proffered hand and shook it for the last time, symbolizing their friendship in the past and the unknown future. "I also wish you the best of luck in whatever path you decide to take."

Erik nodded in acceptance of what Charles had said, and walked out of the room, and out of the Institute that the two friends had built together, with his toolbox floating behind him.

As Charles watched his friend leave, he felt sad; sad that Erik Lensherr would become possessed by revenge for what had happened to his family, and for what he had become. Charles knew that Erik had become a person so consumed with vengeance that he had lost track of what he was supposed to do with his life.

'I will help you, Erik,' thought Charles as he turned around and wheeled himself towards Cerebro. 'I will help you, no matter how long it takes.'

_**Bayville, New York- 2014**_

Some thirty years later, in and around the year 2014, Charles Xavier is now leader of the X-Men. They are a group of mutants that use their powers to try to protect all of humanity from the Brotherhood of Mutants and the Acolytes, both of which are run by Erik Lensherr.

The X-Men are made up of all the students that live and learn to control their powers at the Institute and the instructors there. A hierarchy exists in both the X-Men and the Brotherhood. The hierarchy in the X-Men is thus: in charge is Charles Xavier; his seconds-in-command (generals) are Jean Grey-Summers (Phoenix), Scott Summers (Cyclops), Hank McCoy (Beast), Ororo Munroe (Storm), and Logan (Wolverine). After these five people, the command goes to the more experienced students like Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat), Bobby Drake (Iceman), Marie Darkholme (Rogue), Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler), and others, and finally, the more inexperienced students take command if it comes to it.

The X-Men originally operated in secret, but now the whole world knows about them, and they have saved the world many, many times. Also, Forge (Dr. Forge), Elizabeth Braddock (Psylocke), Warren Worthington III (ArchAngel), and Sean Cassidy (Banshee) are X-Men, and though they don't live at the Institute like the others will, if needed, help their friends as often as they can, even if it involves battling.

The Xavier Institute for the Gifted encompasses about 100 acres, and includes a large mansion, with over 100 rooms for mutants living there and for mutants to come, 10 guestrooms, around 50 bathrooms, and 5 living rooms. The mansion also includes at least 10 medium-sized classrooms, five dens, two large libraries, two kitchens, and two elevators leading down to the training centers used for training the various mutants and help them hone their powers, and ten garages for the assortment of vehicles that the boarders there used.

A large forest surrounds half of the mansion and there is a cliff with a waterfall leading down to the ocean, connected to a beach. There is a path that leads down to the beach, along with an Olympic-size pool, many fields and courts for sports, and various pavilions spread throughout the campus, along with a stable full of horses near the edge of the forest. Underneath the mansion itself there are training centers and aircrafts of many kinds. The woods are full of animals and there are even a few mythical creatures, like dragons, brought to life by one of Forge's inventions and are now unable to be rid of. They are also used for defense. The younger students have befriended these animals and are able to control them to a certain degree.

The mansion has some of the most sophisticated defense mechanisms known to man, including a self-destruct program titled "Def-Con 4". This program can only be activated by a code typed into Cerebro, the head of all the defense mechanisms at the Institute. There is a voice-print and hand-print identification security system in the gate and the front entrance of the mansion itself, plus there are lasers and guns hidden under benches, the front fountain, etc. which are activated when an intruder is sensed by the infra-red technology installed throughout the grounds.

Erik "Magnus" Lensherr heads the Brotherhood of Mutants, as well as the Acolytes, but together they are more commonly known as the Brotherhood. He is known as Magneto, and is called "Magnus" by Charles.

The hierarchy in the Brotherhood is thus: in charge is Erik; his second-in-command is Lance Alvers (Avalanche), then next in line are Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver) and Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch). These two mutants are not only twins, but also Erik's children, and then following them is Raven Darkholme (Mystique). At the bottom of the ladder are Fred Freddy Dukes (Blob), Todd Tolensky (Toad), Leon Prince (Aussie), and Opal Key (Shot).

The Brotherhood don't care when, how, where, or why they operate and don't care who they hurt or what they do to achieve their objective, which is to either eliminate humanity or conquer the human race in order that mutants will rule the Earth. This goes along with the theory that Erik had adopted and changed to fit his own definition: "the strong will always triumph over the weak."

There are also five members of the Brotherhood who are members but don't live at the Boarding House of Bayville (the Brotherhood Headquarters) most of the time: St. John Allerdyce (Pyro), Victor Creed (Sabretooth), Pyotr/Piotr Peter Rasputin (Colossus), Remy LeBeau (Gambit), and Jason Wyngarde (Mastermind). These five mutants are referred to sometimes as the _Acolytes_, and in the rank of the hierarchy, a mix between the ranks of everyone below Lance's rank in the Brotherhood.

A few of the Brotherhood mutants are loners, and this includes Piotr, who's being blackmailed by Erik in order to fight with the Acolytes. Piotr's family (especially his sister)'s lives could be in danger if he doesn't do what Erik commands. Remy is a former thief and gambler (mostly a poker player) from the South who doesn't know where he exactly belongs, plus the fact that he is on the run from an arranged marriage back in New Orleans and is trying to escape the grip of the Guild of Thieves. Two more loners are Wanda, who doesn't know if she should or should not get revenge on her father; and Lance, who just doesn't know what to do with his life, and if he should try and quit the wars that have been going on for years.

The war between the Brotherhood and the X-Men has been going on since around the early 1990's, when Erik Lensherr revealed himself as Magneto and started to terrorize the town of Bayville, which is located in Westchester County, New York, not to mention the whole world. Charles Xavier organized the X-Men at this time in order to try to protect the town and its inhabitants from the destruction that the Brotherhood caused. The original X-Men included Ororo, Logan, Hank, Warren (ArchAngel), who quit to pursue as normal a life as he is able to with his blue skin and metal wings, and Sean, who has since quit the X-Men and is currently living in Ireland. Sean's codename is Banshee, as when he screams a supersonic shock wave is released and hurts everyone's ears in range except his own.

Eventually, more and more mutants were added to the team, some of them being promoted to become teachers, like Scott and Jean, as Warren and Sean quit, although they do help out when needed. Then, due to events that were televised, like the _Sentinel _project and the defeat of Apocalypse, the whole world now knows of the existence of mutants in the world, and especially in Bayville.

However, even though both the X-Men and the Brotherhood did team up to save the world ten years ago and live right in Bayville, the town is extremely prejudiced against mutants, and refuses to have any contact with them if they can avoid it. They refuse to help anyone that is a mutant, even if they look completely normal on the outside, or even if they (the mutants) are dying or are severely injured. There are even groups of people, like the Friends of Humanity, who terrorize the mutant population of Bayville, and even kill mutants, all to prove their point that mutants are dangerous and should be destroyed completely.

The students at the Brotherhood and the Institute are able to work and go around town because they have holo-projectors that give them different images and different names that they use in everyday situations. They (the projections) are used because the whole town knows the names of the real mutants and what they look like, so if they walk around town in their regular forms, they will be hunted like a deer is during hunting season. Even though Xavier's Institute tries to help the town, Bayville's citizens refuse to soften their views on how they regard mutants.

In the year 2011, laws were passed saying that mutants are no longer allowed to attend public school, so the mutants found and recruited by Xavier now attend class in the Institute itself, with some of the older students being the teachers. Mutants are no longer allowed to attend college, but they are able to earn their degrees in whatever field they want at the Institute, through Charles' influence.

So, the war continues, with no end in sight, and the two sides continue to battle. In a war that's good vs. evil… the X-Men vs. the Brotherhood… Charles vs. Erik… who will win? The real question everyone wants to know the answer to is: Who Will Win?

**Note:** This prologue is based heavily on the book X-Men by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith, with some additions and changes by me. (see next line for bibliography)

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn, and Dean Wesley Smith. X-Men. New York: Ballantine Books, 2000


	2. Thoughts and a Flashback

**Unification**

**_A/N: _**Alright, here's the deal. Chapters 1-14 are being resubmitted b/c I've gotten a lot of complaints about all my descriptions… so here are the chapters w/o my lengthy descriptions, except for my original characters, whose descriptions will remain intact. If u want the descriptions leave me ur e-mail address and I'll send 'em to ya. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **

As I have said before, I only own the X-Sword Team, the two new Brotherhood members, and Thomas Five, but I have a feeling that I will gain ownership of Marvel one day… oh wait, no, wrong company. My contract of ownership was supposed to say, "… owns Marvel," but it says "… owns one DVD of the movie **Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets**." Drat… maybe next time…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

Present Day: 2014 

Note:** This story takes place 10 years after Apocalypse was originally defeated, which was in 2004. **Also, I will be referring to people by first name and sometimes by their specific codenames on and off, even in battle, so a warning: some confusion may occur.

Also, this story is rated PG-13 for language use, and I may raise the rating in later chapters, so beware.

**Chapter 1: Thoughts and a Flashback**

_**Bayville, New York- May 13, 2014, 11:00 PM**_

One spring night- May 13 to be precise- in the year 2014, Lance Alvers was walking in the vicinity of Bayville College, located in the town of Bayville, in Westchester County, New York, the United States of America.

Lance's beat-up sneakers came into contact with a rock and sent it flying. He heard it strike a metal of a telephone pole a minute later, and, shrugging, shoved his fingerless, dark brown biker-gloved hands into his torn, dark blue faded jeans while he hunched his shoulders forward a bit more, trying to move his sleeveless black vest closer to him over his brown T-shirt. Lance's thoughts soon wondered back to whom he was thinking of: Kitty Pryde.

Lance and Kitty have been off and on together for the past five years, as they kept breaking up whenever their relationship hit at least a six-month anniversary. An argument would always occur between them before they would break up, and then they would agree to not see each other anymore. However, they would still remain friends, and would usually hook up again about six months to a year after they had broken up, making everyone who knows them comment on how much of a soap opera- type relationship they have.

Lance knew that every time he and Kitty broke up he would only love her even more, but knew that they could never be truly together because of obstacles separating them. He would continuously think that it would be best for her if they didn't see each other, but they still managed to get back together.

Each time they did so made Lance more convinced that because of their rocky relationship they were not meant to be together, and because of his feelings he would grow more insecure about them as a couple, and they would have more arguments then they had had the last time they were together.

Lance just didn't think they belonged together, but knew deep inside his heart the truth that he didn't want to admit: he and Kitty belonged together and were always meant to be.

As Lance walked near the technical entrance of the college, he couldn't get his mind off Kitty, and knew he could no longer deny that he had feelings for her after a year of just being friends; actually, make that over ten years of being friends, lovers, significant others, acquaintances, and even enemies- he loved her. However, Lance wasn't sure if Kitty felt the same, especially after the tumultuous breakup they had had the year before, and didn't want to ruin the friendship they had for fear he would lose her forever and not even have her as a friend anymore.

'Man, this isn't fair…' thought Lance to himself as he walked, hands stuck in his jean pockets. 'After we went to that dance together a while back, I thought that she really did like me more than a friend once more, and that we wouldn't break up again. I mean, she is a ton better than some of the friends I have, not including the people I live with, although I could care less if Raven or Erik died; better yet, if both of them died. I won't let anyone, especially those two know this, but since I gave up my chance to become part of the X-Men all those years ago, I've been regretting it; especially lately. I've also been regretting breaking up with Kitty over a year ago. Damn it, just because I've been regretting my choices over how many years doesn't mean that Kitty's regretting the choices I made, right? God, I can't stop thinking about her; I have to get her back somehow, but how can I get Kitty to like me more than a casual acquaintance… again?'

Lance thought back to that morning when he had had a customer come in that morning…

FLASHBACK

Lance's Mechanics and Service, Bayville, NY- May 13, 3:00 PM 

Lance had gone out to greet a customer while cleaning his hands with a rag, the business at his small mechanics shop booming that day, and was shocked to find Kitty there, and Kitty was just as surprised to see Lance, as she was usually serviced by one of his other mechanics.

"Hi, Lance," said Kitty as she looked around, while trying to avoid looking at Lance directly.

"Hey there, Kitty. So, what's up?" asked Lance as he put the rag in his back pocket and looked at her, his eyes going over her outfit of choice for that day, which consisted of light blue jeans, a light blue and pink long-sleeved shirt, white sneakers, and his eyes finally settled on a heart pendent necklace that he remembered giving her for her twenty-first birthday.

"Nothing much, except that my muffler's busted. Think you can replace it?" replied Kitty as she finally looked at Lance, and then back at her car, a dark blue Nissan.

"Uh, yeah… yeah, I can replace it. Let me take a look," answered Lance as he took the keys from Kitty, got into the car, and slowly drove it onto one of the shop's racks, amid the loud noise that wasn't quieted due to the busted muffler. He then got out and began his examination of the car.

As Lance took an evaluation of the busted muffler, examining it to see where the problem lay and jotting down notes on his clipboard, he couldn't keep his mind on task; his thoughts kept drifting back to Kitty.

'My god, she's so damn beautiful,' said Lance to himself, 'I'm still in love with her, and I know it; just don't want to admit it. But since I blew my chance to make her mine when I broke up with her close to a year ago, I have doubts as to whether or not I can win her back. And, to make matters worse, I think I remember… no, I told her that I didn't love her, when I knew that I was lying.'

"Well, how much will it cost?" asked Kitty as Lance came out from under the rack and was checking things off on the clipboard that was now covered in notes on the muffler, the car, and some blank sheets.

"Well, you're muffler's definitely busted, so I'll have to replace it, but it'll take a day to do, as I have to order the brand of muffler you'll need. I'm not quite sure how much it will cost, but I should know when we get the muffler in and I install it. If you'll follow me, I have some forms I need you to fill out; responsibility and ownership and stuff like that," said Lance as he looked up from his clipboard and motioned Kitty to follow him.

As they went towards his office, he stopped at his secretary's desk and told her to get the forms needed according to the information on the clipboard. He then handed her the clipboard and led Kitty to his office, not noticing Kitty glancing at the secretary enviously.

As Lance and Kitty went into his office, Lance pointed Kitty to a seat in front of his desk as he leaned against the wall next to it and thought, 'Maybe I can win her back…'

Just as Lance was about to talk to Kitty, his secretary, Ashonda, came into the office with the clipboard and some forms, put them in Lance's hands, nodded a greeting to Kitty, which she coolly returned (not that Lance noticed) and left. Lance was silently cursing Ashonda for her bad timing as he flipped through the forms, making sure everything that was needed was present and accounted for.

"All right, I need you to read these forms and then sign where indicated," said Lance as he pushed off the wall, took the forms needed off the clipboard, and gave them to Kitty. He then pointed to where she was to put the information that was needed, and then went and sat behind his desk, every now and then glancing at Kitty as she worked.

Kitty began to fill out the forms, doing them as quickly as she was able to, and as she did this, Lance glanced at her more and more, until he was just watching her work, and thought about what to do. After thinking for a few minutes, he knew that he had to try to get her back by talking to her about their relationship, about the mistakes he'd made in the past, and how he still loved her.

Just as he was about to speak, Kitty finished up the forms and happened to glance at her watch and exclaimed, "Oh my god! I have a computer-tech class to teach in, like, 10 minutes; I have to go! Lance, do you mind if I pick up my car tomorrow around 6:30 in the evening?"

"Yeah, sure," replied Lance as he took the forms from Kitty, and then looked at her and asked, "Kitty, do you have a ride home, because if you don't, I could get my secretary to take over so I could give you a ride."

"No, that's, like, okay, Lance. I hear Rahne's car coming up now," replied Kitty as she cocked her ear at the sound of a car pulling up. She handed Lance the keys to her car, and left the office. Lance watched through his window as Kitty greeted the red-haired woman and a young girl whom he knew was one of the younger mutants who had recently come to the Institute, got in, and drove off.

"Damn it, Lance! You're a fuckin' idiot!" yelled Lance out loud as he angrily turned away from the window, and keeping control over his powers, took out his frustration by pounding his fist on the surface of his desk, causing a dent to appear. This, along with his yelling, was loud enough to be heard by his employees. They all stopped what they were doing and stared in the direction of Lance's office. Lance knew that this was happening, but right then, he didn't care who heard him.

"God, Lance, you had a chance to get Kitty back, but you blew it; you are such a fuckin' idiot!" shouted Lance in frustration as he brought up his fist and stared at the dent he had made. Lance then berated himself for the rest of that day, and was still thinking about Kitty that night.

BACK TO PRESENT DAY

As he finished these thoughts, he heard screaming. He looked around in surprise, and saw on the roof of the college two figures. He saw one of them fall, and heard the screaming again, and this time he recognized it.

"Wait a minute…" exclaimed Lance as he stared at where he knew the screaming was coming from, "that's Kitty! I have to help her!"


	3. Rescue and Escape

**Shout-Outs:**

I would like to thank my two reviewers for this story so far:

**_Red Witch_**: Oh my gawd, thank you so much! I really hope you like this chapter and send me more reviews ((I'm selfish, aren't I?))

**_Sagistar_**: Thank you so much, you were my first reviewer! I hope you like this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **

Okay, this time I've had my certificate of ownership sent here ASAP, and is says… "so and so owns one videocassette of **Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone**… maybe next time… and it **better** be the next time…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 2: Rescue and Escape**

_**Bayville College, Bayville, NY- May 13, 11:15 PM**_

Within a few minutes, Lance had forced open the locked doors by picking the lock to one of the buildings and looked around frantically, trying to remember where the stairs, or an elevator, was located.

"God, I wish this building wasn't so damn big, or that I remembered where anything is in this damn school!" exclaimed Lance angrily as he ran through the hallways of the college.

Bayville College is about 75 acres, and has 1 main building with dorms and other classrooms surrounding it. It also has four parking lots, multiple playing fields, some outlying buildings, an auditorium, and a separate cafeteria and recreation/gymnasium building. Lance soon discovered that he was in the main building, and found a flight of stairs that he remembered leading to the roof of the building.

"Finally!" exclaimed Lance as he ran up the flight of stairs as quickly as he could and emerged on the roof where he found something that made his face lose all color.

Kitty was lying on her back in a pool of blood and standing over her, gloating, was a giant of a man, who was at the moment laughing maniacally; his name was Sabretooth.

"What the hell do you think you've done!" screamed Lance as he ran to Kitty, touched her face gently, and then turned, eyes burning with anger, towards Sabretooth.

"Why did you hurt her?" yelled Lance to Sabretooth as he moved his arms into battle position, raising them into the air and aiming them towards Sabretooth.

"Oh, no reason, except to get my arch-rival, Wolverine, here because I know how much he cares about this pile of trash," replied Sabretooth viciously as he smirked, nodded his head towards the unconscious Kitty, and moved into battle position himself. As he did so his all-fur outfit- a tunic, leggings, a belt- rustled as he moved and his metal boots were also covered in. After throwing another smirk at Lance he brought his claws to the forefront and tensed his body in preparation for his charge, or to block Lance's charge.

When Sabretooth had finished preparing himself, Lance was unable to hold back his anger anymore and used his powers to create an opening in the roof underneath Sabretooth.

As Lance concentrated on widening the gap he rolled his eyes backward in his head and focused his mind. After focusing, he sent out more seismic waves through his outstretched arms and the ground, making sure that the waves ended up underneath Sabretooth. The small crack that had formed at first soon opened up into a huge chasm, and Sabretooth lost his balance and fell.

Sabretooth fell down to the first floor, screaming and snarling in rage, where all the rubble came raining down on top of him and buried him. Lance once more concentrated and closed the chasm, leaving a barely visible fracture line to show where the roof had been spilt. He then massaged his temples and rubbed his head vigorously to rid himself of the headache that came every time he used his powers.

'That's not going to keep him out long,' thought Lance as he stopped rubbing his forehead and focused his attention on Kitty. 'I have to get Kitty out of here as soon as possible and tend to her injury, (which he saw was a gash on her scalp), but first I need to stop that bleeding…'

He thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers and took off the vest he was wearing, tore it into as many thin strips as he could and carefully wrapped them around Kitty's head to keep the bleeding to a minimum.

'Where to take her?' thought Lance as he gently picked her up and careful to not disturb the injury in any way that could make it worse.

'I can't take her to the boarding house, everyone there, with the exception of Wanda, would just beat her up even more, and not to the Institute, because they all hate me and they'll think I was the one who did it. I know! I'll take her to Forge's house; I know I can trust him. He'll help me out,' thought Lance as he went back into the building, carefully avoiding the area where Sabretooth was buried in the rubble, and stopped in the parking lot, where he thought about the quickest way to Forge's house.

Feeling his responsibility to keep his charge safe, Lance ran towards Forge's house, carrying Kitty as gently and carefully as he was able to, after remembering the quickest route there, as his jeep was at the Boarding House.


	4. Two More Flashbacks and Some Medical Aid

Shout-Outs: 

**_Sagistar: _**Thank you so much for the review, and just so you know, since this fic. is AU, I decided to just put in the bios. so people would know how the characters are all going to act, and how they made out after the end of Season 4. Thanks, and review again!

**_KaliAnn: _**Thank you so much! I loved your story, and hey, it's okay if you didn't get to review all of my story; I'm so glad that you at least reviewed! Thanks, and review again!

**Disclaimer: **

Okay, I'm positive this time that my ownership certificate says that I now own X-Men! Let's see… no! It says I only own one video of **The Lion King**… how long is it going to take to get the right certificate?

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 3: Two More Flashbacks and Some Medical Aid**

_**Forge's House, Bayville, NY- May 13, 11:47 PM**_

Once there, he knocked on the door, and Forge answered it, dressed in a rumpled light blue tee shirt, tan khakis, and sneakers. Lance surmised that Forge had been working on one of his crazy inventions, knowing that Forge's clothes were always rumpled and never clean when he was working on something.

"Dude, what happened to Kitty?" said Forge as the expression of anger that had been directed at Lance turned to concern when he saw Kitty in Lance's arms. He looked from Kitty back to Lance with surprise evident on his face.

"Listen, I'll explain later, but right now can you give me a spare room?" said Lance as he looked at Forge, and then down at the injured woman in his arms.

"Absolutely," replied Forge as he motioned Lance in and led him to the elevator that was his transportation between the three floors of his house and examined her with his eyes, taking in her condition and putting together a plan of action at the same time. "What sort of injury does she have?" asked Forge as the elevator's doors opened and he and Lance stepped in.

"She has a head injury, and I found her in a pool of blood. I used my vest to try to stop the bleeding, but I can hear her breathing slowly and weakly. She's lost a lot of blood. I can't take her anywhere else, or call 911 because of the whole town hating us mutants. Kitty isn't wearing her holo-projector, so she'll be recognized as a mutant right away, and I don't know how to reactivate her projection, as her holo-watch's different from mine. Plus at the hospital it would have to be taken off anyway and then they'd recognize her as a mutant." explained Lance as he looked at Kitty, whom he had slowly moved closer to him, showing Forge how much Lance cared for her, though he said he didn't.

"Alright, this way," said Forge as he led Lance out of the elevator and into a room set up like a hospital room, compete with a bed, two plastic chairs, a small television, and a curtain for privacy. "Carefully lay her on the bed while I go and get the supplies that I'll need and clean up," continued Forge as he quickly left the room to go to his storeroom and get what he needed, not to mention put on clean clothes.

As Forge left the room, Lance laid Kitty down on the bed and made her as comfortable as he could without disturbing the injury. As he looked at her, he remembered when they had first met at their old high school back in Illinois 10 years ago.

FLASHBACK- 2004

Northbrook High School, Northbrook, Illinois- September 15, 2004 

Kitty had just gotten her powers and had been trying to get out of her locker because she was going to be late for gym class. She had been getting her gym equipment from her locker in the hallway, and two girls, Amy and Riley, were standing nearby talking about her. They were saying how she was good at everything but gym and how fun it would be if she were late for it. So, they came up behind Kitty and pushed her into her locker, locking her in.

Kitty had been pounding on the door, yelling for someone to come and help her out, when she suddenly phased through the locker and collided with Lance, who had been spray-painting the hallway and lockers with red spray paint. Lance had ended up with a red streak across his face from the collision.

He had been excited to find another mutant at the school, and showed her his powers by sending a small tremor through the hallway. However, he'd just ended up scaring Kitty and she ran off.

Later that day, Lance met Kitty in the auditorium and told her to meet him by the principal's office after school and he would show her how to control her powers, and she did meet him there. He told her that it was a gift and only a curse if you looked at it that way, and showed her how to start controlling her powers. Kitty then phased through the office's wall and then opened the door for him to enter the office. Lance congratulated her on her success, and then sat down at the computer and began to change his grades. He then tried to alter Kitty's, but she became upset with him, and tried to escape, which she did, but not before Lance, in a rage, caused a massive earthquake and thereby collapsed half of the school.

The Xavier Institute had then recruited Kitty and Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants had recruited Lance, with Mystique convincing him to join. They met up in fights numerous times, with the Institute almost always winning. One time, Lance did try to join the X-Men to be closer to Kitty, but after only a short time there, with only Kitty and the New Recruits really accepting him, he left and returned to the Brotherhood, and has been with them since.

END FLASHBACK

'God,' thought Lance as he sat at Kitty's bedside, 'I've done a lot of bad things by working for Magneto, like betraying Kitty's trust I don't know how many times. When I first met him, I thought of him as a father figure because I never really had a father when I was younger, having been shuffled around from foster home to foster home so many times because no one wanted me. However, as time went on, I realized that he didn't care about me, or about anyone else; not even his own children. I realize now that Magneto is nothing but a bastard and an asshole.

'When I first became a mutant all I wanted to do was get revenge on the humans for rejecting and making fun of me when my powers first manifested. Then, after a while, I realized that revenge isn't the answer. Mutants need to get along with the humans in order to live peaceful lives. I've betrayed Kitty's trust so many times, doing so many different things, including breaking up with her I don't know how many times, that I don't know if she'll ever forgive me. I've got to find some way of making it up to her.'

"Hey, dude. I'm back," said Forge as he came in the room with clean clothes under a lab coat and gloves, which covered his two prosthetic arms, one he had lost when he was sixteen and could be turned into any tool or weapon imaginable and the other a replacement for the real arm that had been bitten off by a shark, which was just the same as its companion, an operational IV, a cart with a heart and brain regulator on it, water, disinfectant, bandages, and towels, startling Lance out of his thoughts. "Let's take off the makeshift bandages and see the wound itself."

"Alright," said Lance as he carefully removed the torn strips of the vest she'd been wearing, being careful to not touch the wound itself, and then stepped back to let Forge take a look.

"Man, this is bad," commented Forge, as he gently examined the gash, probing one area after another around the edges of the wound. "It's pretty deep, and there's danger of Kitty's losing so much blood that she'll go into shock."

"I hope Kitty will be all right. What do you want me to do?" asked Lance as he looked at Dr. Forge anxiously.

"Wash up to prevent infection," said Dr. Forge as he began to arrange the supplies he would need depending on importance.

"Alright, Dr. Forge," said Lance. After Lance left Dr. Forge hooked the IV up to Kitty and began to clean the wounds. When he was done fixing her up as best he could he then wrapped the wound up with the bandages he had brought with him.

As Dr. Forge finished helping Kitty, Lance came back. "Hey, would you mind if I sat here watching Kitty?" asked Lance as he looked at her anxiously.

"I don't see any harm in it," replied Forge as he looked at him from cleaning up his work area. "But, just to be safe, I think we should hook her up to the brain and heart regulator machines I brought with me so that I'll be able to monitor her closely," added Forge. He then hooked Kitty up to the two machines he'd brought in carefully and saw the signals telling him that Kitty's pulse and brain activity were normal for the time being.

Forge continued, "I also think that it would be a good idea if we contacted the Institute and told them about what happened."

"Wait, are you absolutely sure that we have to contact the Institute? I mean, I know it would be in Kitty's best interest to do so, but I'm betting that everyone will just blame me for hurting her. They know I harbor feelings of revenge against them and might think I took them out on Kitty," replied Lance in a worried tone.

"Hey, dude. Listen, I know you're worried that the whole Institute will come after you, but think about it. Professor Xavier's a groovy guy and can read a person's mind and communicate telepathically. He's a very good judge of character, and knows when someone's lying to him. He isn't like Magneto or Mystique, who boss you around and don't care about your safety or anyone else's. He cares for everyone at that Institute and everyone else in this world, including the Brotherhood and the Acolytes. Remember how he gave you a chance all those years ago. If you ask to talk to Xavier himself, he'll know that you're telling the truth. Believe me, I trust him, and you should too," said Forge in a reassuring tone as he put a calming hand on Lance's shoulder.

"All right… I'll do it. For Kitty's sake," replied Lance as he looked from Forge to Kitty, and then asked, "Should I call now?"

"Definitely. This is an emergency. I'll go get my cell phone. Listen, I'm going to get you something to eat. It looks like you didn't eat at all… did you eat at all?" asked Forge as he looked back at Lance with his hand resting on the doorknob, ready to exit to wash himself off, get the phone and some food.

"Nah, couldn't. That boarding house, even though it's better than it was, is still lousy. Even though Magneto and Mystique are back, no one pays the heating, water, and electric bills except me, not to mention how we're paying back debts to Tabby for all those years ago; with interest. Fred also spends the majority of his salary on making sure the pantry is full of food for the whole household, which now includes the Acolytes, since their own base is under repair. Pietro spends his salary on making sure the two floors we live on look reasonable and can be lived in. Todd and Wanda spend their salary on making sure the training center under the house is in operating condition, and Mystique pays for nothing at all. Magneto only pays for stuff that's meant for the Acolytes. I swear Magneto spends more money on the Acolytes than he does his own children," replied Lance bitterly as he thought of all that Wanda and Pietro had suffered at the hands of their mad father and how he and his friends were paying for everything.

"Man, no wonder you look like you haven't eaten in days. I'll go and get you a sandwich and water. That okay with you?" asked Forge.

"Yeah, that's fine," replied Lance without taking his eyes off of Kitty.

As Forge left to wash off, get the food and a phone; Lance just sat beside Kitty's bed, looking at her. He remembered when Kitty had invited him to Bayville College's Senior Sadie Hawkins dance. He had been surprised that Kitty would even think of asking him to the dance…

FLASHBACK- 2011

Bayville College, Bayville, NY- May 31, 2011, 9:30 PM 

When his "friends" back at the boarding house had heard about it, they'd started teasing him until he couldn't take it anymore and stormed out of the house, causing a random piece of ceiling to fall on them, except Wanda, who hadn't made fun of him.

He still went, of course, and when he'd asked Kitty if he was all that bad, she replied that no, he wasn't. Lance had smiled at this response and they were about to kiss when he'd suddenly felt flames. He had looked towards the entrance to the college's gym, and saw Pyro there, shooting out flames from the jetpack on his back, manipulating them to form a giant horseman along with some foot soldiers. Lance and Kitty watched in horror as Pyro sent them chasing after the people in the gym, all the while laughing maniacally.

"Kitty!" yelled Lance to Kitty as she stepped up beside him to help him fight Pyro.

"Yeah?" asked Kitty as she phased through an arrow of fire that had been launched at her by one of the foot soldiers.

"Get these people out of here, now!" yelled Lance as he roughly pushed Kitty towards the entrance.

"But…" protested Kitty as she tried to phase out of his grip, but was unable to as he held her in a way that made it impossible to do so.

"Go!" yelled Lance as he once more pushed her towards the door.

"Right!" replied Kitty after a moment of hesitation as she nodded and began yelling at people to follow her directions to get out and started to lead people out of the gym.

'Now, to get rid of Pyro,' thought Lance as he started to run towards Pyro, threw a punch at his jaw, and forcefully pulled him out of the gym. By doing this Lance just barely managing to stop him from burning the gym down by forcing Pyro to dissolve the horseman and the soldiers so he could defend himself.

"Bastard!" yelled Pyro as he wrenched his arms free of Lance's grip and brought them downwards and pointed them at Lance. He then shot flames at Lance, and managed to burn through Lance's shirt, burning his chest as well.

"Right back at you!" yelled Lance as he punched Pyro in the chest, then another blow to the jaw, and knocked him unconscious.

"Pyro, why the hell were you attacking the gym?" asked Lance out loud as he stood up, wiping the blood that was coming from a wound on his face from one of Pyro's punches. Lance then knelt by the unconscious Acolyte and examined him, looking for anything that would serve as an explanation for the attack. After a few minutes he exclaimed, "Here's the damn problem!"

Lance had found a small silver brain control chip on the back of Pyro's neck. "Now, to get you back to the boarding house so that Magneto doesn't come and hurt anyone, especially Kitty, as a way to get revenge on my knocking you out and stopping your plan, whatever it was. Plus, you might get some attention from your 'sheila' over your injuries, as you have bruises all over your chest and a nice one on the jaw," said Lance as he threw the chip down and ground it into the earth, knowing it would never be seen again.

Lance then picked Pyro up, and started to carry him to where his dark green jeep was parked in the college's parking lot. He was almost there when he heard Kitty calling his name from the now trashed gymnasium.

'I'm sorry, Kitty,' thought Lance as he dropped Pyro in the back of his jeep, not caring if he hurt him more because he was pissed at Pyro for ruining his night with Kitty. He then jumped into the front seat and started up the jeep. 'I'm sorry that I have to leave you without finishing this night with you, but I can't risk you getting hurt, just for me. I love you too much to let you get hurt by my associates or even by my being with you.'

Lance then took off the rose that Kitty had given him earlier in the evening, looked at it for a minute, and then threw it out of the car, and drove off. The slow and gentle wind that was blowing picked up the rose and brought it to land at Kitty's feet. She picked it up, and knew in her heart that Lance wasn't coming back that evening, because he wanted to protect her.

'Oh, Lance. I wish you could understand how I feel about you; that you don't need to do things on your own or protect me, and that I truly love you with all my heart. Things might then be a bit easier.'

With these thoughts, Kitty kissed the rose and went back to the Institute, not really caring if the dance was over or not or how the media was arriving on the scene.

Lance had heard later that everyone was safe, but that the savior hadn't been seen the rest of the night. Lance found out that Kitty had gone home soon after he left, and he'd felt guilty that he had had to leave her there without even saying good-bye.

Pyro had recovered from the injuries Lance had given him, but not before getting a hexing from the Scarlet Witch for being so stupid as to let himself be controlled by anyone when he could have just as easily been destroyed by Magneto for his stupidity. Lance knew that the Scarlet Witch had a crush on Pyro but wouldn't admit it.

Then, a few days later, Kitty and Lance had broken up, and all because Jean Grey-Summers had told Kitty she'd seen Lance with another girl, when she was lying and acting on her instinct to keep Kitty safe and away from "the enemy." ((Jean is a bitch, in my opinion; sorry to those who like her in advance, b/c there may be more Jean bashing…))

END FLASHBACK

He was thinking about how bad that had been when he heard a crash come from the first floor and a roar. 'Oh god no,' thought Lance as he stood up and faced the door with fear and apprehension apparent on his face, 'it's Sabretooth, back to get his revenge.'


	5. Sabretooth’s Attack and his Consequent

_**Shout-Outs:**_

**_Sagistar: _**Thanks so much for the review! I may have some trouble updating quickly in the future, but here's the next chapter, and review!

**_Untouchable Hexing Witch: _**Thank you so much for the reviews! I know this fic. is Lancitty-oriented, and thank goodness you don't have a problem with that, but I promise to introduce some of the other couples soon. Read and Enjoy!

**_bobby(): _**Thanks for the review, and I hope you read and review soon!

**_Author's Note: _**Hey to all you readers! Just a note: I have a really busy school load this semester, so updates will be slow, and if I can update maybe once a month I'll be lucky… read and review all you readers!

**Disclaimer: **Ha, I got it! This is the one… the correct ownership certificate for X-Men! It says… no! It's wrong! Why the hell would it say I own two pairs of pink socks! I must get another certificate of ownership…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 4: Sabretooth's Attack and his Consequent Demise**

_**Forge's House, Bayville, NY- May 14, 12:00 AM**_

Forge came running into the room, slammed the door shut and locked it as quickly as he could.

"Lance, Sabretooth's here! You need to get Kitty out of here, or she might die!" exclaimed Forge as he turned to face Lance and pointed to a door that was behind a nightstand, which Lance had failed to notice was in the room earlier. Forge ran over to the nightstand and flung it aside and opened the door, revealing a tunnel that Lance instinctively knew led to the surface, as the room he was in was underground. Forge then motioned for Lance to take Kitty and run.

"No, you take Kitty, Forge. You're the doctor, so you'll know what to do if something happens. Take her to the Xavier Institute. If what you said about Xavier's really true, then he'll give you help and shelter," said Lance as he tensed to fight Sabretooth's oncoming wrath.

"No, I should stay and help," replied Forge as he tried to stand in front of Lance and began to change one of his arms into its mechanical form to give Lance more time to prepare to battle Sabretooth.

"No offense, Forge, but what could you do to help me?" asked Lance as he put a hand on Forge's shoulder, causing him to turn and face Lance.

"Your power is that of fixing and building machinery, and of being a good doctor. Besides, I need you to take care of Kitty for me until I can rejoin you. Now, get out of here!" yelled Lance as he pushed Forge towards Kitty and took his position in front of them.

"All right, but be careful, my friend," said Forge after a moment as he returned his arm to normal, ran over to the bed, unhooked Kitty from the machines and the IV, scooped her up into his arms, ran out through the door and into the passageway. As he did this he was thinking 'I know I can help Lance, but how… wait, I know!"

'Kitty…' thought Lance as he watched Forge leave with Kitty in his arms, 'I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.'

As Lance finished this thought, Sabretooth burst into the room, an evil smirk planted on his face.

"Ah-ha!" yelled Sabretooth in triumph as he brought up his claws and pointed them at Lance, "Here is the young Avalanche, the betrayer once more! You may have ruined my plan to lure Wolverine into the open, but you can make up for that by handing over your girlfriend so I might hold her for ransom, or better yet, kill her!"

"You'll never get her, you asshole!" yelled Lance. "Even if she was here, which she isn't, I would never give her to you! She's the only person who really understands me for who I am and I love her, and I won't ever lose her to the likes of you!"

With these words, Lance began to power up and was about to send a massive shock wave through the floor of the room when Sabretooth charged him.

"Take this!" screamed Sabretooth, as he punched a surprised Lance (with his claws making contact first) through the floor and ended up sending him into Forge's laboratory (third level). Lance landed in a pile of scrap metal that Forge was storing there, used for building his various inventions, and then rubble from above came raining down on him. In the process, he cut himself on the right arm and left wrist by catching them on the edges of the metal.

"Damn, why the hell would Forge store metal, of all things, right in the middle of the basement!" exclaimed Lance angrily, as he felt the blood coming down from his head and through his hair, and assumed that the wound on his head was from Sabretooth. He heard Sabretooth's laughing from above, and hid himself among the metal and rubble so he might surprise Sabretooth and possibly hide his scent from Sabretooth's keen nose, but knowing it would be difficult due to the amount of blood seeping out of him and onto the floor.

Just as he finished hiding himself as well as he could the slam of feet was heard on the floor, meaning that Sabretooth had jumped down into the basement to continue the fight.

"Hey you little punk! Why don't you just give yourself up? I hope you know now that because you sabotaged my plan to get rid of two of the X-Men, you are no longer part of your beloved brotherhood! Ha-ha-ha!" yelled Sabretooth into the dimly lit basement.

"Stop acting like a coward! You know what, I think hanging out with your little girlfriend has made you soft. Some Avalanche you are now!" added Sabretooth to his previous speech as he looked around and sniffed the air, catching the scent of Lance's blood, and grinning, his fangs bared, began to move towards Lance's location.

As Lance digested this information, he realized that Sabretooth was right, at least about him being out of the Brotherhood for good.

'Yeah, well, good riddance to that household of losers who are too stupid to understand that fighting other mutants and humans is wrong,' thought Lance. "But he is wrong about one thing: I'm not any weaker from hanging out with Kitty. I have become stronger than ever before!" he yelled this loud as he emerged from the rubble to fight Sabretooth, getting ready to send one of his shock waves at the massive man.

"Ah, so there's the coward!" yelled Sabretooth in triumph as he cracked his knuckles and added in a mocking voice, "If you want me, come and get me!" Sabretooth was hoping to have Lance angrily charge him so that he could slam him into the ground and kill and gut him, but was surprised when Lance didn't charge at him, and even more so at what his enhanced hearing heard.

"I don't think so, bub!" yelled Lance in reply as he moved his arms into position, but instead of pointing them at Sabretooth, pointed them at the ground beneath him. "Although, if you want to come and get me, be my guest!" added Lance cockily as he began to move his eyes towards the back of his head.

The remark being what it was, it angered Sabretooth, and he tried to make a full-fledged charge towards Lance, growling as he did so. However, before he even left his position, he felt the ground crumbling beneath him and fell into an enormous chasm, triple the size of the one he'd fallen into earlier that evening. Lance had made it about a minute ago while mocking Sabretooth without his noticing, but hadn't opened it until that minute.

"Arghh!" screamed Sabretooth as he started to fall through the floor, trying to dig his claws into the walls of the chasm to stop himself, but kept failing to get a good grip. "Fine!" he screamed, "If I go down, then you go down with me!" He grabbed Lance's right ankle, as Lance had come over to see if Sabretooth was finished, and started to pull him down, his claws creating gouges the whole way down.

"Hey, you jerk, let the hell go of me!" yelled Lance as he struggled to get free, while clinging to a piece of rock that was jutting out of the wall. As he did so, the amount of blood coming from his wounds increased until he could taste the blood coming from his head wound every second.

'God,' thought Lance, 'I've got to get out of here, now!' Lance was losing strength fast, and just when it seemed as if Lance would disappear forever into the earth along with Sabretooth, he felt someone grab hold of his arm. He looked up, and saw it was Forge.

"Dude, hang on! I'm going to pull you out!" Forge, using his mutant ability to turn both his arms mechanical, pulled Lance out of the hole, wrenching Lance's leg free from Sabretooth's grasp in the process. Forge watched as a screaming and snarling Sabretooth finally lost his hold on the wall after falling another 15 feet and disappeared forever into the bowels of the Earth.

"Lance, are you all right?" asked Forge worriedly. "Blood's coming down from your head even worse than Kitty's injury, and your bleeding from other injuries as well. Come on, I'm going to help you get to the Institute. I've got your jeep outside," added Forge as he slowly helped Lance up, and helped him walk out of the ruined basement and out through the escape tunnel in the basement that Forge had made in case of emergency, like the one on the second floor.

"Forge, dude, where's Kitty?" asked Lance wearily as he leaned on Forge for support, knowing he was losing strength every minute because of the amount of blood he was losing, and feeling his right ankle throbbing and mentally comparing it hell.

"She's in your jeep, asleep, but luckily she didn't go into shock. I knew that I couldn't leave you, after all you've done for me over the years, so I ran to the Brotherhood as best I could with Kitty, and put her in the back seat. I then silently took your jeep after finding the keys in the ignition, and brought it back here, as my truck is currently in your garage," explained Forge as they reached Lance's jeep, and then helped Lance into the passenger side of his jeep.

"Forge," said Lance as he made himself as comfortable as he was able, "I really do have to apologize. I didn't think that you would be able to help, but I was wrong. I was so eager to destroy Sabretooth because of what he did to Kitty, but you helped me to realize I needed help to do it. Thanks."

"Anytime, pal," replied Forge. "But, right now, we need to wrap up your injury in bandages so we can stop the bleeding. Here, we'll use these," said Forge as he got out some water and rubbing alcohol to clean the wounds with and then took some bandages and began to patch Lance up, all from a first-aid kit he'd found in Lance's jeep.

As Forge wrapped Lance's injuries, Lance thought about what the future would hold for him.

'I can't go back to the Brotherhood now,' he thought, 'so I'll try the Institute. If they won't accept me, I'll just live at my auto-shop, as I have no family left; at least not anymore.' With these thoughts, Lance fell into a deep sleep as Forge first quickly rummaged through the remains of his house, pulling out a few random items. He then stashed them in the jeep, jumped in, and then took the two injured mutants to the Institute as fast as Lance's jeep could go.


	6. Interlude, a Ruined Date, and some Int

**Shout- Outs:**

**_bobby ():_** Thank you so much for the reviews! I love that you've taken an interest in this story; yeah, I love cliffhangers too. Review again soon!

**_Author's Note: _**Thank you so much for your patience! I have musical until April 4, followed by the rest of the hard semester. I hope to update again soon, and thanks again for your patience! And, now: Chapter 5!

**Disclaimer: **Ok, I have the certificate I need! Wait, no! Not again! Why in the hell is it **_blank!_**

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 5: Interlude, a Ruined Date, and some Introductions**

_**Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House, Bayville, NY- May 14, 7:00 PM**_

As Forge was taking Lance and Kitty to the Institute Pietro Maximoff was admiring himself in front of the mirror in his room at the Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House, preening himself for his upcoming date with Lexie Howlett.

"Hmm… perfect, as usual," commented Pietro as he once more admired himself in the mirror. He was wearing black leather pants, a light blue turtleneck, and white sneakers, his platinum white-silver hair gelled back to perfection; in his opinion the perfect outfit for his date with Lexie. He knew he had told Lexie to look semi-casual but he had decided to ditch his regular outfit- dark blue jeans with streaks of white crisscrossing on the legs, a light blue t-shirt covered by a light blue jacket, and white shoes- and go with what he had on now.

Pietro looked at his watch and exclaimed, "Shit! I'm going to be late… oh well, I'll make it there in time." Pietro zoomed to his closet, pulled out his black leather jacket, and ran downstairs where he ran into someone.

"Hey, watch where you're going, you…" began Pietro as he trailed off when he saw whom he'd ran into. "Uh, hiya Mystique. Lovely weather we're havin' this evening, right?"

"Quicksilver, where do you think you are going?" demanded Mystique, or rather Raven, as her eyes bore down into Pietro's. Raven was currently wearing tight black jeans and a dark yellow shirt that matched the color of her eyes, having just come back from walking the streets of Bayville (in human disguise) watching for Sabretooth's return- or any sign of ruination happening- but with no result.

"I'm going on a date; got a problem with that?" replied Pietro quickly as he jumped to his feet and dusted himself off, not trusting himself to look at Raven for fear she'd read his eyes and see his fear. Even though Pietro was now older, he was still afraid of Raven when she gets angry.

"I'm afraid not. You see, you are going to go and find Sabretooth and report back to me on his whereabouts. Therefore, I'm afraid you will have to cancel your date," said Raven as she once more looked at the young speedster in front of her, nodded, and stalked off to Magneto's office.

Pietro swore under his breath and ran to the kitchen, which was luckily empty. He picked up the phone and dialed Lexie's cell phone number, hoping against hope that she would answer and not Logan.

_**Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 14, 7:10 PM**_

Lexie and Rogue were watching **The Last Samurai **on channel 41, Lexie waiting for Pietro to call and tell her where to meet him and Rogue keeping her company. Lexie was dressed in what she considered semi-casual- dark blue jeans, a midnight blue shirt, a black jacket, and silver gloves with holes for her claws, along with black boots, as she dislikes any other kind of footwear. Rogue, who had just come home a few hours ago from helping out with a community play, was in black jeans, a dark green and yellow shirt, black boots, and a mix of her makeup from when she was a teenager and what she wears presently. She also had on dark brown gloves, which she still wears at all times to try to control her powers and to make sure that she doesn't touch anyone accidentally.

A few minutes from the finale Lexie's cell went off. Rogue muted the television while Lexie dug in her pocket for her cell phone.

"Yeah, this is Lexie," answered the clawed beauty as she absent-mindedly looked at her claws as she popped them out. She suddenly retracted them as she heard her boyfriend on the other end.

"Pietro? Is everything alright?" asked Lexie a bit worriedly as she glanced at Rogue, who was watching Lexie with worry showing in her eyes.

"Nope, it's not," replied Pietro as he looked out of the kitchen to make sure no one was around. "I can't get out this evening; I'm going to have to cancel."

"You sure you can't just sneak out?" asked Lexie as she waited for her boyfriend's response, glancing towards the doorway and sniffing the air to make sure Logan wasn't around. As she did so her waist-length black hair streaked with midnight-blue caught some of the filtering sunlight left in the sky shining through the window.

"No way I can; that is, unless I want to risk being seriously maimed," responded Pietro as he suddenly noticed his father's acolyte St. John heading his way. "Hey, listen, I got to go; love ya, X."

"Love you too, and be sure to stay in one piece, lover boy," responded Lexie as she smirked a bit at the last part. She then heard the click at the other end signaling that Pietro had hung up. She sighed as she turned off her dark blue cell phone and pocketed it, then just sat there staring into space.

"Everythin' okay?" asked Rogue as she turned off the TV, noticing that Lexie was too distracted to continue watching the movie.

"Yeah, 'cept for the fact that my boyfriend can't get out," responded Lexie softly, making sure to keep her voice down low.

"Sorry, sugah," replied Rogue as she laid a gloved hand on Lexie's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, her other hand brushing a white streak behind her ear, trying to make it stay in place with her dark brown locks, which now reached her waist.

"_Everyone, report to the Danger Room for a session with Scott and Jean,"_ said Xavier as he mentally contacted everyone in the Institute.

"Now, of all times," grumbled Lexie as she and Rogue shared a look of pure loathing for Scott and Jean's sessions; they almost always demanded perfection from their students and in doing so earned no respect from the mutants living there. Even Logan and Ororo had some trouble liking them when they did a training session.

"Let's go," said Rogue as she and Lexie made their way to the Danger Room, Lexie's mind on a certain speed demon, and Rogue's mind somehow focusing on a red-on-black eyed devil, as she had seen him in a battle a week before, and was unable to get him out of her mind…

_**Xavier Institute Grounds, Bayville, NY- May 14, 7:45 PM**_

"Aye, I'm in a rough spot, all right," mused Rahne Sinclair as she sat in the woods outside the Institute, absentmindedly patting one of the wolves that she had rescued, wisps of red hair having escaped her ponytail and were blowing around her. Rahne didn't care if she got her outfit- which consisted of dark brown khakis, a hunter green T-shirt, a white jean jacket, black sneakers, and green gloves with no fingers- dirty, figuring she'd just wash them later. Plus, they were already dirty from her day at the local animal shelter.

Rahne knew she had a training session to attend in a few minutes, but had mentally asked Xavier to let her stay in the woods for a few minutes, to collect her thoughts, and Xavier had agreed.

"What am I to do?" asked Rahne as she scratched behind the wolf's ear, hearing a soft growl of delight leave the wolf's mouth. She smiled at this, and then howled a short, mournful howl, the small breeze moving through the forest causing some of her red hair, loose from her ponytail, to fan around her face. A minute late the sound of footsteps approaching at a run could be heard and Rahne soon found herself surrounded by all of the wolves who had taken up residency in the woods surrounding the Institute.

"All right, I think I can tell ye how I feel, ye know?" asked Rahne out loud as she once more scratched behind the ears of her favorite wolf, Stealth. Rahne opened her mouth to speak, but abruptly closed it when she heard footsteps approaching her and her friends. She growled, and so did all of the wolves around her. The wolves moved in front of her, and Rahne got to her feet and slowly changed into a werewolf. Her skin became brown and furry, with her legs growing a foot in length, her face becoming that of a wolf's, and her arms stretching out a foot, her hands becoming claws, and her clothes blending into her fur.

"Who is there?" growled Rahne as she prepared to leap on the approaching enemy. The wolves formed a protective circle around her, making sure that they could attack first if the approaching object was of danger to their savior and friend.

"Rahne? Ya here?" rang a southern voice, which caused Rahne to growl to the wolves, telling them to stand down. Rahne quickly shifted back into her human form and walked towards the bushes, where the face of one Sam Guthrie appeared, his dark yellow, shoulder-length hair in a ponytail, most likely to keep it out of his eyes.

"What are ye doin' here, Sam?" questioned Rahne as she nodded to her best friend in greeting and moved back to Stealth. The rest of the wolves moved towards Sam and sat at his feet, realizing that this mutant was part of Rahne's "pack" and was therefore not to be harmed in any way.

"Hey there, ya'll," said Sam as he knelt and began to pet the wolves, hearing them growl softly, and grinned when one of the younger wolves nudged his jean-clad knee. Sam was dressed in dark blue jeans with holes in the knees, a light blue T-shirt, white tennis shoes, and a dark brown leather vest over his shirt. He then looked up at hearing Rahne's question and said, "Ah came to get ya, Rahne. Jean sent me to get ya, as she's too high and mighty to come and do it herself. Roberto offered to do it, but she told him he had to stay and train with the rest of the team. Ah'd suggest that ya come with me now and prevent Jean from blowin' her gasket, like she did last time."

Rahne burst out into laughter, as did Sam, and after a minute, when they both had calmed down, they started walking towards the woods' exit, the wolves following. When they got to the edge of the forest, Rahne howled a farewell howl, and the wolves howled back. They then ran back into the forest to their homes. Rahne and Sam then ran towards the mansion, hoping to avoid Jean's wrath of terror.

_**Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House, Bayville, NY- May 14, 8:00 PM**_

Pietro hung up the phone with a sigh. He felt really bad at having had to cancel his date as he had wanted to give Lexie something for her birthday, which was the next day. ((how cute!))

St. John entered the kitchen at that instant, whistling as he flicked his lighter on and off, the flame matching his orange and red hair with a streak of bright yellow that was in a kind of spiked formation, almost straight up because of the use of hair gel. It took him a few minutes to notice Pietro and when he did he said, "Howdy, mate! You look glum; wot's the problem?"

Pietro thought about whether or not he should tell the maniac Aussie about his situation and decided to reveal only half. "The problem, Pyro, is that Mystique said I have to cancel my date and go find that ex-lover of hers Sabretooth."

"Rough spot you're in, mate," responded John as he leaned on the counter, flicking his lighter. "Personally, Oy'd ignore the blue lady and concentrate on the shelia, but since Oy don' got me a shelia Oy can' really speak on the subject."

Pietro looked at John, thinking, 'Did the pyro-maniac Aussie actually make _sense_!' Pietro just shook his head and turned to John, saying, "Thanks for the advice, but I'll do what I have to." Pietro then sped out of the kitchen, past the living room with the rest of the mutants, and out into the city of Bayville to follow Mystique's orders. John just shook his head and flicked his lighter open once more, manipulating the flames so they took on the shape of the girl whom he wanted to have as his girlfriend; the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff.

7


	7. Rejoining the XMen

**Shout-outs:**

**_Untouchable Hexing Witch: _** Thanks for the review; yeah I know; I decided to try some X-ietro, since I usually try and write Jonda, Lancitty, and Romy. Hoped it turned out all right. Enjoy!

**_LilPrincessMe2000 : _** Glad you enjoyed it! Here's another chapter!

**_Heartsyhawk: _** I know the descriptions are long and tedious, but since this is AU I thought I'd tell about the characters and any changes I took the liberty of making. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** The certificate is finally here! No, Ting (my bro.'s dog), come back! Don't chew it to pieces!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 6: Rejoining the X-Men **

_**Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 12:30 AM**_

Lance woke to hear voices talking to someone whom he recognized as Forge, and who were standing near the jeep. He recognized the other voice, besides that of Forge's to be that of Professor Xavier, and watched what was going on, not noticing that Xavier had glanced his way for a sliver of a minute and knew Lance was awake.

"My god, Forge," said Xavier as he looked at Kitty, who was in the back of Lance's jeep, "What in the world happened to Kitty?" Xavier was in his typical outfit- black slacks, a white turtleneck, a black sports coat, and shoes. Xavier's wheelchair can both float in the air and roll on the ground and he operates it by thought.

"Professor," replied Forge as he looked from the injured and unconscious Kitty to Xavier, "Sabretooth somehow found Kitty on the roof of the Bayville College, and then attacked her. Lance was walking near the school, heard Kitty scream, and came to the rescue." (Forge knows this because Lance told him what had happened earlier)

"Wait a minute," said another voice Lance vaguely recognized as Logan's, "You're telling me that Avalanche was the one who saved Half-Pint from Sabretooth?"

"Yeah, I am," replied Forge. "And that's not all. Lance came to me for help in bandaging up Kitty, and watched over her. When Sabretooth attacked again, Lance sent me, with Kitty, away from my house so that we'd be safe from Sabretooth. He caused a sinkhole to open up under Sabretooth and sent him into the center of the earth. He was also injured, and I brought him here because he needs medical help, more than I can provide, and so does Kitty. Also, I need a place to crash for a while, as my house is completely destroyed; thanks to Sabretooth, of course."

"Forge; do know that you are welcome to stay here for as long as needed. Logan," said Xavier, "please take Kitty to the hospital wing, but do not wake anyone up. Forge, go inside and tell Mr. McCoy…" Xavier pointed to a huge blue creature standing in the front doorway, listening to Xavier. He was known as Mr. Hank McCoy, a.k.a. The Beast, and Xavier continued, "to show you to one of our many guest rooms." Forge looked over to Hank, who was smiling at him from his place in front of the Institute's doors. Hank was wearing khaki pants with a lab coat over them, signaling that he had been about to go and work in his lab.

Logan nodded and carefully reached into the back of the jeep and gently slipped his arms under Kitty's body, making sure to support her head, and began to walk as fast as he was able to towards the mansion and towards the infirmary.

After Logan had left with Kitty in his arms, Xavier addressed Forge, "Oh, and Forge, do not tell anyone what really happened to Kitty, or wake anyone up. I will be the one to tell them that."

"Uh, sure, Professor, but can I go to the garage first to put the tools I managed to salvage from the wreckage of my house and the medical supplies I managed to find in Lance's jeep away and then go into the mansion?" Forge asked as he looked at Xavier.

"Certainly," said Xavier as he nodded towards where the garages were located. He watched Forge walk towards the garages for a few minutes, told Hank to wait for Forge inside of the house, and then turned around and faced the jeep.

'Now, to see if Lance is all right,' thought Xavier to himself as he approached the awoken Lance.

"Professor!" said Lance as he saw Xavier rolling closer to the jeep, and Lance tried to get out of the jeep and on his feet.

"No, no, don't try and get up, Lance," said Xavier as he raised a hand to stop Lance, and then rolled around to the passenger side of the jeep. "You've been through a great ordeal, and I must say, I am impressed. You betrayed Sabretooth in order to protect an X-Men, who are and have been the sworn enemies of the Brotherhood, both of which have been fighting against one another for years."

"No, Professor," said Lance as he shook his head in negation of Xavier's previous statement, "I didn't betray the Brotherhood for just any X-Men; I betrayed them for Kitty."

"Yes, I know," said Xavier as he extended a hand in welcome to Lance, "and I want you to know that you are welcome to return to the X-Men."

"You're sure?" asked Lance as he shook his head in disbelief, "I mean, after I betrayed your trust and almost helped Mystique and the Brotherhood conquer you I don't know how many times, you still want me to join the X-Men? You don't think that I'll betray you again?"

"No, Lance, I don't," replied Xavier as he put his hands in the infamous "steeple" position. "The reason is because I can see into the inner recesses of soul and I see that you are now filled with the desire to do good and protect everything on this planet. You have become a completely different person than what you once were. I can sense that you are sincere in your actions and thoughts. Also," said Xavier as he chuckled a bit and placed his hands on Lance's shoulders in friendship, "a desire to be the object of Kitty's affections, to get her back, and to please her in any way that you can."

"I must extend to you my heartfelt gratitude in saving her," continued Xavier, as he looked Lance in the eyes, deciding not to mention the fact that Lance was blushing a bit. "She is my responsibility, and if anything were to happen to her, I would be in real trouble with her parents, if you know what you mean," continued Xavier as he took his hands off Lance's shoulders and extended a hand once more.

"Yeah, I think I do," said Lance as he opened the door of his jeep, slowly got out and stood in front of Xavier, supporting himself with one hand on his jeep for a few moments until he got his balance back. He did this while making sure to keep most of his weight off his injured ankle. "And I have to give you my thanks, for letting me rejoin the X-Men. I feel this is another chance for me not only to earn yours and the other X-Men's respect, but to make some new friends, to help people in any way I can. Also, I want to earn Kitty's affection through a way that doesn't involve my hurting anyone; not anymore," finished Lance as he took Xavier's offered hand and shook it warmly.

"Lance, I agree with you that you are now ready to join the X-Men, but first…" said Xavier as he rolled closer to Lance, took his right arm, and examined the wound he'd just noticed was quickly disappearing. "I think that we need to get you to the hospital wing. For some strange reason, you've stopped bleeding, and have started to turn green."

With these words, Xavier let go of Lance's arm and stared at his head, which was starting to turn a bit green, watching all traces of blood disappearing, along with the head injury itself.

"What!" exclaimed Lance as he looked at his hands, which were now green and scaly, his fingers turning into pointed claws, "I'm turning green! But how in the world can that happen!"

"I don't know Lance, but we must find out. Follow me to the medical lab, where we'll examine you, and see what's going on," replied Xavier as he started to roll towards the mansion's entrance, with Lance limping slowly behind him. As Lance did so he took no notice that his ankle was slowly starting to hurt less and less, and feeling a bit of pain as wings began to appear on his back.

5


	8. Confrontation

**Shout-Outs:**

**_Heartsyhawk: _**Thanks a lot; hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry I misunderstood your comment about the descriptions… anyway, enjoy!

**_A/N: _**Hey, I'm done w/ school, but of course, I have "homework" over the summer… yuck! Anyway, I'm going on vacation so here's chapter 7 'fore I go. Enjoy! Oh, the rating's up b/c of the harsh language.

**Disclaimer: **Okay, I have the instructions for getting my certificate… wait, they just Disappeared! Into Thin Air!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 7: Confrontation**

_**Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 12:45 AM**_

"I think you're right, Professor; I am ready to be an X-Man," said Lance as he followed Xavier. "But first, I have to know: will the others accept me?" continued Lance as he glanced at Xavier for an answer to this question, but saw that Xavier had put his two hands together. Lance knew from the past that this meant he was thinking hard about something.

"To be honest Lance," said Xavier after a minute, as he unfolded his hands, "I'm not sure, but they will have to learn to, because you are now an official X-Men."

As Xavier and Lance headed towards the entrance, they saw Scott Summers running towards them from the direction of one of the Institute's ten garages, his ruby-red quartz glasses glaringly bright in the moonlit-night while his dark brown hair blended in with the shadows of the night. Scott was dressed in khaki pants, a dark blue shirt, and black tennis shoes, having come from putting his cherry red car in one of the many garages on the Institute grounds

"Ah, Scott. Will you be so kind to put our newest X-Men's jeep in the garage beside your car?" said Xavier as Scott stopped in front of Xavier and leaned down to catch his breath. Once he had caught it, he started up in surprise, and looked at Xavier with confusion evident on his face.

"Professor, what's going on? I saw Forge in the garage, and he said that Kitty was hurt, and… wait a minute, Professor," said Scott as he looked at Xavier, and then saw someone or something behind Xavier. On closer examination, he saw a green man with wings that he instantly recognized as Lance, if only because of the… what was it, man…'s attire and hairstyle. On seeing him Scott sprang back a foot and got into battle position to attack Lance to protect Xavier if the need arose.

'_Forge, I thought I told you to not tell anyone about Kitty',_ said Xavier severely as he talked telepathically to Forge.

'_Sorry, Professor,'_ replied Forge as he winced in the garage where he was putting away his supplies at Xavier's finding that he'd told Scott that Kitty was hurt. _'Slip of the tongue,'_ said Forge meekly as he apologized once more to Xavier.

'_Very well, Forge. But in the future, do not tell anyone anything until I say you can. Understand?'_ replied Xavier as he looked at the tense position of Scott and, he assumed, soon, Lance.

'_Deal,'_ said Forge as he smiled at how Xavier could be understanding and so much like a father at the same time, and how he could have the respect of the whole community without even using his telepathic abilities to command it. _'Groovy, that is so cool,'_ Forge thought to himself as he finished putting his stuff away and started to lock up the garage.

'Thank you for the compliment, Forge,' thought Xavier as he smiled to himself and turned his attention to the scene at hand.

"What do you mean the newest X-Men's jeep? Wait a minute… Alvers? What the hell are you doing here, and why are you _green_!" exclaimed Scott as he put his hand to his glasses and prepared to remove them to shoot Lance, and noticed Lance tense up as well.

"Hey, Summers I have no clue why I'm green, but just leave me the fuck alone, okay," said Lance as he stared Scott straight in the eye, his wings spread out behind him, and a tail, which had emerged a few moments before, wrapped itself around Lance's feet. He then moved into battle position, extending his arms in front of him in preparation to cause a tremor.

"Scott," replied Xavier as he rolled between the two men and stared first at Lance, and then Scott, straight in the eye, causing them both to relax a bit, but still ready to battle at a minute's notice. "Lance is the newest X-Men," stated Xavier as he stared at Scott for a few minutes and watched as Scott took what Xavier had said in.

"You're telling me that this guy is an X-Men, again?" exclaimed Scott as he looked at Xavier in total and complete surprise, confusion, and shock.

'_Yes, Scott, I am,'_ replied Xavier as he spoke to Scott telepathically, _'And I hope you know that I will not accept any prejudice towards Lance. I will tell you about Kitty later.' _

'_All right, Professor. I'll be nice to Lance, but only for you,'_ replied Scott telepathically and gave Lance a look that said he still didn't trust him. Scott then lowered his hand from his glasses, took Lance's keys from Xavier's hand (Xavier had grabbed Lance's keys before talking to him), hopped into Lance's jeep, started it up, and drove it towards the garage. Lance then shifted out of his battle position and slowly walked to stand beside Xavier, noticing that his limp was almost gone.

"Good, I'm glad that's settled. Lance, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to the medical lab, where Hank will examine you," said Xavier as he turned once more to Lance and signaled him to follow him.

"All right, let's go, because all of a sudden, I'm not feeling so good…" said Lance as he clutched his head. He felt himself becoming dizzier and dizzier, and after walking a few more steps he fell to his knees as the pain in his head spread throughout his body. He then fell face down in front of the door on the stairs. The last thing he remembered hearing before fading into unconsciousness was the Professor calling for someone to come and help him, and quickly.

4


	9. Turning Purple and Green and Results

**Shout-Outs:**

**_Heartsyhawk: _**Thanks a lot; hope you enjoy this chapter! Glad you liked my description of Scott… I had hoped that I had gotten everything right… once more, enjoy!

**_go go5698324-+0321658468...03621+5214156485456231230.035ty78fyvrwtqer g62h5256+14h6t+5h6+j6y52 0n2f652+thj8+7-8+9+4+51-23210.213219( ):_** Thanks for reviewing… I must ask, where did you come up with your pen name? Oh, and thanks for reviewing 2 times!

**_todd fan: _**Thanks so much for the quick review! You are right: I originally had Sabretooth's name right, then I changed it and didn't go back to correct it. Anyway, enjoy! P.S.- I believe Todd should be appearing in the next few chapters.

**_A/N: _**Hey, I'm so sorry about the late update, but since they changed the format I've had to beg my parents to let me go on their screen names so I can just update my stories… not fair! Anyway, to apologize, I thought I'd put up four chapters, b/c who knows when I'll be able to update again… so enjoy! Oh, and if you're just checking my fic. out, review me and tell me your thoughts- even if it is just one review…

**Disclaimer: **Okay, I have the instructions for getting my certificate… wait, no I don't… I had them, I swear I did! Come back!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 8: Turning Purple and Green and Results**

_**Medical Lab, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 17, 11:00 PM**_

Kitty woke up in the hospital wing, and the first thing she saw was the blue, furry face of Kurt Wagner, a.k.a. Nightcrawler, staring at her and promptly screamed.

"Kurt! Man, you scared me. What am I doing in the medical lab?" asked Kitty after she'd stopped screaming and was looking around the medical lab from her position on the bed, confusion evident on her face.

"Kitty, you mean you don't remember anythin' about last night?" Kurt asked in a worried tone, concern evident on his face. Kurt's clothes consisted of dark green khakis, a red shirt, and white sneakers, which signaled he had just gotten done showing some of the new mutants some speed and agility moves while in their regular clothes, just in case they got caught without their holograms on outside of the Institute.

"Kurt, I don't know what you're, like, talking about. The last thing I remember was, like, finishing teaching my class at 6:00 PM this evening. Wait… what time is it?" replied Kitty as she stopped looking around at the medical lab and at Kurt with confusion evident in her eyes and on her face.

"It's 9:30 in the evening. You slept for about two days, give or take a few hours. Anyvay let me tell you; from vhat I heart, you had quite an experience. I mean, take a look in the mirror," said Kurt as he brought out a mirror from behind his back, and cringed when Kitty looked in it and screamed, his dark blue, almost black, hair feeling like it could stand up on end from the amount of screaming he was presently hearing.

"Oh my gosh! What the heck's, like, happened to me! I'm... I'm… I'm purple and scaly like a lizard! What happened to me!" yelled Kitty in complete shock as she looked at her arms and hands and noticed that yes, indeed, she was turning purple and scaly. Her hands were exactly like Lance's, except they were smaller and purple.

"Kitty, what's wrong? I heard you screaming, and came as fast as I could." said Xavier as he floated into the wing in his wheelchair with Logan and Hank following him. Logan was currently dressed in dark blue jeans, a black T-shirt, and dark brown cowboy boots, signaling that he'd just come from checking to make sure the area where the next training session was going to take place was ready. Logan's dark blue, almost black, hair, with two halves framing his rugged face, was contained under his dark brown cowboy hat, which was pushed back on his head.

"Professor!" yelled Kitty as she looked at Xavier with shock in her voice, "Kurt just, like, held up a mirror, and it looks like I'm purple!"

"Yes, I know," replied Xavier, as he looked Kitty in the eye. "I'm not sure what has happened, but I noticed the change in the way you looked when our other visitor was brought in."

"What other visitor?" asked Kitty confusedly as she looked around the lab.

"Here," said Xavier as he pulled back a curtain next to her bed and revealed a green and unconscious Lance.

"Lance!" exclaimed Kitty in surprise as she got out of bed and went over to Lance's bed, "Professor, what's Lance doing here? I thought he lived with, like, the Brotherhood."

"Yes, he did," Xavier agreed, "and I think it time you heard what happened. Kurt, I think it best for you to leave with Logan and go to the training session with the others."

"But Professor, I vant to know if Kitty's alright. I mean, ve are the best of friends," protested Kurt as he gave Xavier his own version of the puppy eyes, which had no effect whatsoever, as he soon learned.

"Come on, elf," said Logan as he put a hand on Kurt's shoulder and turned him towards the exit, "Do what the Professor says, and I might cut you a break by letting you, and not just the younger mutants but you instructors as well, all play mutant dodge ball."

"All right," agreed Kurt reluctantly as he nodded his head in agreement, and added, "Kitty, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, sure, Kurt," agreed Kitty as she watched Logan and Kurt leave, and then turned her attention to Hank and Xavier.

"Professor, do you need me to explain to Kitty why she and Lance have grown scales, along with the other changes?" asked Hank as he looked at Xavier.

"Yes, please do," replied Xavier as he wheeled himself beside Lance's bed, motioned Kitty to sit down, which she did on her bed, and closed his eyes to concentrate and see how the training session was going, or was it mutant dodge ball? He would have to check... and found it to be an out of control session of mutant dodge ball, with powers being allowed.

"All right Kitty, here's what happened," began Hank as he walked over to one of the computers in the lab, pulled up a file, and then began to explain it all to her.

"According to the results from the tests I did on you and Lance, when you both were slashed on the head by Sabretooth, he not only caused you to bleed, but he inadvertently implanted some kind of gargoyle-like DNA into the both of you. This DNA, on mixing with your mutant DNA, caused you both to mutate in both your outer appearances and powers. For example, with the addition of wings and tails…" said Hank, but Kitty interrupted with a scream.

"Wait, slow down. I have, like, wings and a tail!" screamed Kitty in disbelief as she stood up from the bed and looked down at a pair of wings which were folded around her chest and then behind her and saw a long purple spaded tail flicking back and forth.

"Yes, wings and a tail," said Hank as he looked at Kitty, who apologized at having interrupted him, and after she had sat back down, Hank continued. "With the addition of wings and a tail, you and Lance both have the ability of flight and added agility, along with your original powers. There are also some newer powers that have been added to your arsenal of weapons."

Hank paused to bring up a projection of Lance and Kitty's DNA, and as he spoke, he pointed out the certain changes in the structure that gave them their new powers. "For instance, you both have the ability of super speed, invisibility, super-strength to a degree, and a built-in healing factor. Also, according to the tests, when Lance uses his powers, he'll no longer get the headaches that usually come with them, and you can phase as many people or things through a substance at a time without fainting from the toll it would usually take on you. You both now have telepathy and x-ray vision ((hey, I thought it was a good idea…)). You have claws that have replaced your hands, and both you and Lance can control the length of them, almost like Logan can do with his. You can also change the sharpness of them on thought, going from dull so as not to harm anyone to sharp enough to slash someone's throat in one clean swipe. You both now have enhanced senses, like Logan does, excellent stalking skills, and Lance now has control over all types of metal and you, Kitty, have telekinesis. So you see, although Sabretooth probably meant to kill you, and certainly Lance, in the end he only helped you both. Ironic, no?" ended Hank as he flashed a smile at Kitty.

"Yeah, like, ironic, but Hank, will Lance and I be able to, like, control our new powers?" asked Kitty as she put her chin in her now-clawed hand, making sure to think them dull so as to not injure herself, and looked at the still unconscious Lance. "Plus," she added as an afterthought, "how did I get hurt? I mean, all I, like, remember is getting a note to go and meet Lance on the college roof,-without my projection-, and when I got there I phased through the doors, went to the roof, and then… well, I remember hearing laughing, feeling pain, and then nothing."

"I think I should be the one to tell you that, Kitty," said Xavier as he opened his eyes and looked at the brunette.

"Professor, do you need me to stay and keep an eye on Lance's condition, or do you want me to leave?" asked Hank as he looked from Xavier to Lance.

"You should go and help Scott and Jean with the others. I believe the remainder of the X-Men, the X-Factor, and the X-Sword teams have ganged up on them and are giving them a tough time. I also advise you pick up Forge from his guest room and tell him to monitor the session from the observation room," replied Xavier as he nodded towards the door, smiling a little as he did. Hank nodded, turned off the computer and projection, and then nodded to both Xavier and Kitty and headed out of the lab to fetch Forge and then towards the Danger Room.

The Danger Room and all of the training facilities for the X-Men are located under ground, so that no non-mutant would discover them, and the mutants could train to protect the world as best they could without letting the outside world know what they were doing. This was the location of almost all for the X-Men's training sessions. Some of the exercises were held somewhere on the immense Institute grounds, and some were held just in the classrooms themselves.

"Professor," said Kitty as she looked from the unconscious form of Lance to the steadfast eyes of Professor Xavier. "I need to know what's, like, happened to me and Lance, which caused us both to end up in the medical lab," said Kitty as she looked from Xavier's eyes to the closed ones on Lance's face.

"Of course, Kitty, I will tell you all that I know, from having talked with Lance-before he went unconscious- and Forge as well," said Xavier as he looked at the unconscious Lance and then to the worried Kitty.

As Xavier told what he knew, the emotions on Kitty's face went back and forth between confusion, anger, shock, and surprise. When Xavier finished, he waited for Kitty's reaction, and he certainly got it.

"Wait, back up!" said Kitty as she held up her claws in protest of what Xavier had finished saying. "You mean to tell me that, like, everything that happened to us, the reason that we are like this, is because of, like, Sabretooth, his stupid plan and the DNA that was implanted into us, as Hank told us! Oh, just wait 'till I get my hands on him; I'll show him a thing or two!" finished Kitty in a rare show of anger as she prepared to storm out of the lab. She was stopped by Xavier, who had positioned himself in front of the door to the lab in his wheelchair. This prevented Kitty from leaving as she stopped as quickly as she could so she wouldn't run into him.

"That won't be necessary, Kitty," said Xavier as he put his hands together in the steeple position. "Did you hear what I just told you?" he asked as he looked at her.

"Uh, not really, no," replied Kitty as she sheepishly glanced at her feet, which had outgrown the sneakers she'd been wearing the night before.

"I said that Lance has already taken care of Sabretooth, as Sabretooth was swallowed by a sinkhole caused by Lance himself," replied Xavier as he looked first to Kitty and then to Lance.

"Really?" exclaimed Kitty in surprise as she looked once more at Lance, "Lance took care of Sabretooth?" she asked softly.

"Yes, he did," replied Xavier as he rolled over to Lance and looked at him proudly, "and he is now an official X-Men."

"You're, like, serious! Lance is an X-Men!" asked Kitty in surprise as she looked at Xavier with shock evident on her face. "Is he here to, like, stay?" she then asked Xavier softly, recalling how he had left shortly after he had joined the last time and how devastated she'd been at his decision.

"Yes, he is," replied Xavier as he looked at Lance. "Now, Kitty, I'm going to leave you to help oversee the session. When Lance wakes up, bring him to my office, and we'll discuss lodgings, Danger Room sessions, and so on. Oh, and Kitty?" said Xavier as he wheeled himself towards the door, and looked over his shoulder.

"Yes, Professor?" asked Kitty as she looked up from Lance to meet Xavier's eyes.

"Good luck," said Xavier as he gave her a wink and left, leaving a very surprised Kitty in his wake. As he left, he couldn't help but think how things were changing, in both the world and in people.

'To think,' thought Xavier, '10 years ago, Lance was a rebel with no cause and no purpose, but now he has a purpose, and she feels the same way towards him as he feels towards her. I'm sure of it.' With these thoughts Xavier took one of the elevators to the Danger Room.


	10. Brotherhood Introduction 1 Leaders

**Shout- Outs:**

**_A/N: _**Hey to all my reviewers! Enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: My certificate is lost in a thunderstorm… :( Return to me! 

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 9: Brotherhood Introduction 1- Leaders**

_**Magneto's Office, Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House, Bayville, NY- May 17, 11:00 PM**_

Meanwhile, back at the Brotherhood, Mystique was wondering just where Avalanche had gone off to, and why Sabretooth had not returned from the mission she'd sent him on over two days ago.

"Quicksilver!" yelled Raven as she got up from the chair she had been occupying in Erik's empty office. "Get your ass in here now!"

Pietro, in a burst of wind, came blowing into the Boarding house from the direction of Forge's house. "Where are Avalanche and Sabretooth?" demanded Raven in a tone that held no sympathy in it.

"Yeah, well, you see…" began Pietro, but was cut off by Raven's death glare.

Pietro was about to tell Raven what he had found when he felt the presence of his father in the room and involuntarily shivered. Magneto had arrived.

"Yes, my son, where have Avalanche and Sabretooth gone?" asked Erik in a menacing voice directed at his son, his shoulder-length white hair visible, and still dressed in his work outfit, which consisted of black slacks, a white shirt, a black business jacket, loafers, and a dark maroon tie. Erik had just come home from a business meeting he had had to go to considering he owned and ran an anti-mutant company called "Power Incorporated". This company researches cures for mutations of all kinds. Although Erik runs this company, he secretly sabotaged all of its attempts at finding the cure for mutations so mutants would not be threatened.

"Well, you see…" continued Pietro, "I just came back from trying to find where Lance and Sabretooth had gone, like you told me to, so I started my search at the mutant Forge's house, who's a friend of Lance's. Since I know the kind of damage that Lance can do, and I saw the ruins of Forge's house, I suspected it was his work. I hunted around for him and Sabretooth, and in the process, found a piece of Sabretooth's cloak, hanging from a piece of metal, over a hole that led to the center of the earth, along with claw marks that were gouged into the earth for about 20 feet. So, after I examined the evidence, I assumed that Lance and Sabretooth had gotten into a fight, and-Lance-won-by-sending-Sabretooth-into-the-center-of-the-earth-once-and-for-all," finished Pietro as he said the last part in his sped-up voice. This means that he strings the words together in such a way that the majority of people, except for Lance, Erik, Wanda, Fred, and Todd could not understand his words.

'Good riddance,' thought Pietro to himself, but winced when he saw Erik look at him, almost as if he knew what his son had thought.

"Traitor!" roared Raven, after hearing a telepathic translation from Erik, as she punched the wall of the house, driving her fist through and putting a hole in it. "He has not only betrayed us once, for trying to join the X-Men when I wasn't here all those years ago, but now he's done it again, and now he's killed Sabretooth, but for what possible reason!"

"For whatever reason," interrupted Erik as he glanced from Raven to Pietro, and then sat down behind his desk and put his hands together, signaling that he had a plan brewing, and one could be sure that it was evil, "we must hunt him down and make him pay. For you see, I do not tolerate traitors in my organization."


	11. Fixing a Relationship

**Shout- Outs:**

**_A/N: _**Hey to all my reviewers! Enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: My certificate is back… but it's unreadable… it is completely soaked! 

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 10: Fixing a Relationship**

_**Medical Lab, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 17, 11:10 PM**_

Back at the Institute, Kitty was sitting beside Lance's bed, and one could tell that she was very worried.

'Okay, why isn't Lance, like, waking up? I mean, if what, like, Mr. McCoy, like, said is true about us having, like, built-in healing factors, then shouldn't he be, like, healed and awake? I mean, he can't be, like, dead… can he? Okay, Kitty, you need to, like, calm down. Lance isn't dead; he can't be dead. I love him too much for him to be, like, dead,' were the thoughts racing through Kitty's mind as she watched Lance, waiting anxiously for him to awaken.

"Oh, Lance," whispered Kitty as she took his hand in hers. "Please don't die. I need you… I love you." Kitty then gently kissed Lance's hand, and then leaned towards Lance's face and placed a soft kiss on his lips. What she didn't expect was to get a response.

"Lance! You're alive!" exclaimed Kitty as she let go of Lance's hand and stood up in surprise as she watched Lance's eyes open. She watched in relief as Lance slowly sat up, and then turned and flashed her a smile.

"Hey there Pretty-Kitty. You worried at all?" asked Lance, but was surprised when Kitty threw herself on him, and cried into his ripped shirt.

"Lance, I'm so, like, glad that you are alright! I mean, I thought that I'd, like, lost you," said Kitty as she cried into Lance's shirt, and felt his arms wrap around her in a reassuring hug.

"Hey, it's okay," murmured Lance as he comforted Kitty. "It's okay; I'm not going anywhere; at least, not without you."

After a few minutes, Kitty released Lance from her hug, and Lance slowly got up out of the bed, and noticed for the first time that he still had on his ripped and bloody clothes from the night before, and also that his arms were green.

"Okay, what the hell is up with this! I'm green and scaly! No way can this be happening!" Lance yelled as he looked at his arms and clawed hands, and then noticed he had a pair of wings crossed in front of him, and a green spaded tail- a bit longer than Kitty's- wrapped around his feet.

"Okay, this is freaky; even by my standards, considering that I also have wings and a tail! One question: is my face green and scaly like the rest of me?" asked Lance as he looked up at Kitty with a hopeful look, saying that he wanted the answer to be no, but the look faded when he saw her nod yes. He sighed in exasperation, and walked over to Kitty's bed and picked up the mirror that Kurt had left there and looked at his reflection and blanched at what he saw.

"Is this permanent?" asked Lance softly as he put the mirror down and turned to look at Kitty, and in response she walked over to him and hugged him, and he once again felt tears on his shirt as he heard her whisper, "Yes."

When Kitty pulled away, Lance could see tears still glistening on her cheeks. He lifted up his still gloved hand, the glove now torn, dried blood staining his fingers, and wiped Kitty's tears away and then asked "Kitty… how did this happen?"

Kitty then told Lance what Hank had told her and how they had new powers, along with their original ones. "And Lance, when you use your original powers, you'll no longer get headaches from using them, no matter how long they're used," added Kitty as she and Lance sat on his bed.

"You're serious?" asked Lance in disbelief as he digested this, knowing that without the headaches, he could finally gain full control over his powers.

"Yes, I'm sure," said Kitty after a moment of thought. "I know this condition is permanent, and the only difference between us in our new forms is that I'm purple and you're green, but this is good. I mean, with our new powers, we can overcome any enemies that we come up against, no matter what they are, right?" asked Kitty as she looked at Lance.

"Yeah, right," replied Lance as he looked back at her, and then at the door to the lab. 'It's now or never,' thought Lance as he looked at the door for a few minutes, then turned to Kitty. "Kitty, I have to ask you something."

"Okay, shoot," replied Kitty as she looked at Lance strangely. 'I wonder what he wants to ask me about,' she thought.

"Kitty, I know we agreed to spilt up a year ago, but when you came to my garage, I guess it was two days ago, I realized that I still love you, even after a year. I realized that this whole time I've been regretting that breakup, but not telling anyone because I was afraid that they would think that I was desperate or a stalker or something, plus I thought that you would be better off without me. But Kitty, I have to know: can you forgive me for breaking up with you? Hey, what's so funny?" asked Lance in confused tone as he saw that Kitty was laughing, and got a bit angry because he was telling his feelings to the woman he loved and she was laughing at him.

He felt the ground rumble a bit at the small tremor he unknowingly sent through it, and instantly stopped it with his thoughts.

"It's you," said Kitty as she stopped laughing, and looked at Lance, but with a smile on her face, and said to him in a serious tone: "Lance, listen: You're not the only one who resents the past; I do too. I mean… what I guess I'm trying to say is… that… I still love you, Lance. I think the reason we broke up a year ago wasn't because I thought you were cheating on me, or vice-versa. I think it was because I was being pressured to stop dating the enemy by those who thought that I might go over to the "dark" side: Scott and Jean. I soon got suspicious of them, or more than I had been.

"Then, when I asked Rogue to use Jean's power of telepathy- in order to help her learn to control her powers- to read Jean's thoughts, I found out that Jean lied to me on purpose. She wanted to break us up because she was afraid the perfect situation of "the X-Men vs. the Brotherhood and the Acolytes" would be ruined if you and I got really close, so that's why, with Scott's help, she broke us up. And it wasn't only last year, but all the times in the past when we broke up were caused by Jean and Scott. You would think that we would've learned our lesson by now, huh?" finished Kitty as glanced at the ground, letting what she said sink into Lance.

Lance, meanwhile, was just staring at her in shock, thinking 'God, I can't believe this. Kitty still loves me… she loves me! This is amazing!'

"Wait a minute…" Lance said after a few moments, "You mean to say that we broke up all those times because Summers and Grey told us that we were always cheating on each other, when we really weren't? That's it! I'm going to go and find them and beat the shit out of them!" declared Lance as he got up angrily and prepared to storm out of the door. He never made it out of the door, however, as Kitty restrained Lance with some of her newly found strength.

"Lance, stop! This isn't, like right! However…" said Kitty as she got an evil look on her face, with Lance staring apprehensively at her. He knew what Kitty was capable of when she got an evil look on her face, remembering the revenge she had gotten on some of the X-Factor members when they had taken her driver's license. They'd hidden it, saying that she was a danger to the road, and that people would be safer if she didn't have it. ((Had to put it in… but this is another story for another time…))

"The best way to get revenge is to make you one of the teachers here at the Institute like Scott and Jean. I mean, when Jean, not to mention Scott, see you teaching the young mutants to control their powers, they'll be really pissed off, but won't be able to do anything about it, because you'll have Xavier's approval. Revenge is sweet. Lance, what's wrong?" asked Kitty after she had finished telling Lance about her plan, but got worried when she saw Lance tense up.

"God, we have to get to the Danger Room; now!" yelled Lance as he ran towards the door, and stopped to wait for Kitty. He didn't even notice his wings come unfolded from his chest.

"But Lance, why?" asked Kitty as she came up beside Lance, unaware that her wings had come unfolded as well. "Why do we need to get to the Danger Room now?"

"The reason's that Magneto's planning an attack on the Institute tonight, because he wants to get Cerebro's blueprints for himself so he can build an exact duplicate that will run on his magnetic powers instead of Xavier's psychic ones. He's then going to use it to find new mutants and train them to hate humanity. Even if he doesn't get Cerebro, he wants to capture as many of the students as he possibly can in order to brainwash them and bring them over to his side. Sabretooth was to get Logan out of the way, but I ruined that, thank god! But he's still going to attack, even without Sabretooth, and he's bringing both the Brotherhood and the Acolytes and, of course, himself. I was supposed to help, but now that I'm an X-Men, I'm going to help defend humanity instead of help destroy it. We've got to tell the Professor, now, because he attacks at midnight, which is only an hour away! We have to go, now!" finished Lance as he looked at Kitty, hoping that she would believe him.

"Right!" agreed Kitty as she nodded her head in agreement, not pausing to think about whether or not she believed Lance.

"Let's go!" she said as she and Lance both rushed out of the lab. They did so without any thought as to how they looked in their new mutant forms, with their wings flapping behind them as they ran or their tails streaming out behind them, or even their torn, bloody clothes from the night before.

All they thought of was getting to the X-Men in time to prevent what could be the beginning of the end for humanity.


	12. Brotherhood Introduction 2 Introduction

**Shout- Outs:**

**_A/N: _**Hey to all my reviewers! Enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: Okay, my certificate is drying on my radiator, but it is still illegible… not fair… :( 

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 11: Brotherhood Introduction 2- Introduction to Todd and Wanda and a Hexing**

_**Magneto's Office, Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House, Bayville, NY- May 17, 11:13 PM**_

As Lance and Kitty raced to find Professor Xavier, Erik was sitting in his room at the boarding house thinking about what to do to Lance when he got his hands on him. Erik had changed out of his business suit by this time and was in his uniform, his helmet sitting on the desk in front of him.

As he was thinking, the door to his room suddenly flew open and a slightly burnt Todd fell through the door, his shoulder-length dark-blond hair appearing to be slightly blackened, followed by an angry and irritated Wanda, her shoulder-length black hair with dark crimson streaks standing up behind her, signaling her powers were in use. Todd had this huge crush on Wanda, whom, shall we say, did not feel the same way.

"Father!" screamed Wanda as she came storming into the room, her blue eyes blazing in fury.

'Not this again,' thought Erik irritatingly as he watched Wanda storm in and sensed her temper rise, 'her temper is rising. If I do not find a way to calm her down soon, her psychic powers will be released. Xavier might be using Cerebro to try and find out if I am up to anything and might get information through Wanda's brain waves, as she knows of the details of my plans… at the moment.'

"Wanda, what's the matter now?" asked Erik in a tired voice as he put a hand to his forehead in exasperation and in an attempt to stop the headache that he could feel coming.

"Father!" screamed Wanda again as she picked up Todd by the collar of his black coat, which covered a dark green turtleneck, torn, faded jeans, and worn-out sneakers and tossed Todd at her father's feet, and prepared to launch another hex bolt at him. "I've been trying to avoid this filthy creature all day, but he keeps following me around. If you do not do something to stop this foolish obsession of his, then I will!" finished Wanda as she started to get angrier, and Erik could feel, not to mention see her psychic energy (which was dark blue) begin to crackle around her.

"Aw, come on, babycakes. You know that you can't resist me," pleaded Todd as he got on his knees before Wanda with hands folded, and with a kind of puppy-dog like look in his eyes. However, he soon found out after receiving another hex bolt from Wanda that they had no effect whatsoever on her.

"Very well," answered Erik as he stood up and moved to the front of the desk. "I shall see to it. In the meantime, go tell your brother and Raven to come here at once."

"Sure, whatever," replied Wanda as she lowered the hands she had had outstretched and stalked out of the room, her anger still detectable, her black jean jacket flowing out behind her. Wanda was wearing tight black jeans, a blood red tank top covered by said black jean jacket, and black boots, along with a silver charm bracelet, a gift from Rogue, Kitty, and Lexie for her 21st birthday, with four charms on it: a spellbook, (representing herself), a smaller version of the charm bracelet itself, (representing Kitty), a Celtic cross (representing Rogue), and a claw of a wolverine (representing Lexie). She also wears a black and red Celtic-cross necklace, with dark blue earrings to match her eye color.

'Now, then,' thought Erik as he moved out from behind his deck and proceeded to pick Todd up by the collar of his shirt.

"Toad," said Erik, "you will leave my daughter alone, or…" he paused as he attached a metal ring around Todd's neck, which he had silently brought out from one of his desk's metal drawers using his powers. Todd watched the proceedings with fear evident in his eyes, "I will use this metal ring that I am attaching around your neck to its full capabilities. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, I understand," agreed Todd in a voice filled with fear. Todd knew what Erik, or rather Magneto could do to someone with metal present on him/her, and knew better then to risk Erik's wrath.

"Good," said Erik as he threw Todd away from him. "Now, get out."

"Yes… yes, sir," replied Todd as he backed up slowly, and when the door was opened by Pietro and Raven, hopped out past them as quickly as he could and left them staring after him with amazement, as they had never seen Todd hop that fast before.

"What was that all about?" asked Pietro as he watched Todd hop away.

"Nothing that concerns you," replied Erik as he once more returned to his place behind his desk, but stood instead of sitting down. "Now, I fear Xavier is starting to get suspicious, so we will be moving out in a few minutes, and attack the Institute at 23:40 hours. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," replied Raven, and Pietro said, "Yes, father."

"Good. Now, let's move out," said Erik as he placed his hands on the desk and stared at his best fighter and his son.


	13. Brotherhood Introduction 3 Remainder of

**Shout-Outs:**

**_todd fan: _**Thanks for reviewing! I'm so jealous u have ur own computer… (glares). Enjoy this chapter, and it does have more Todd in it… for u toddfan (and me too…)

**_A/N: _**Hey, here's another chapter, and again, I've had to beg my parents to let me go on their screen name so I can update… not fair! Oh, and if you're just checking my fic. out, review me and tell me your thoughts- even if it is just one review…

**Disclaimer: **I own X-Men! I own Shot and Aussie as well as everyone else! I do! (gets hit by a steel desk…) Ok- I don't… night now… (birds fly around my head as I slip into blissful darkness…)

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 12: Brotherhood Introduction 3- Remainder of Members Introduced and More Hexings**

_**Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House, Bayville, NY- May 17, 11:14 PM**_

(This happens at almost the same time as chapter 10) In the living room of the boarding house, the remaining members of the Brotherhood and the Acolytes were keeping themselves occupied. The living room consisted of one television up against a wall, two beat-up leather chairs and a couch around the TV. There was also a coffee table in the middle of the circle of furniture, two windows showing the front lawn of the Boarding House, and a small poker table and three kitchen chairs, (the remaining three were in the kitchen with the kitchen table) in a corner.

The walls of the whole Boarding House were full of holes that bore an eerie resemblance to Todd, as well as a few belonging to Pietro. They were there because Wanda would hex them, especially Todd, into the walls of the house at least five times a day because they would pester her until she lost her temper. Since two new members had joined the Brotherhood more holes, some bearing a resemblance to bullet holes and some looking like a head mark now joined the body imprints already there (one of the new members attempts at sky-diving as a hawk…).

It was here that Colossus, Gambit, Pyro, Blob, Shot, Aussie, and Mastermind were just doing what they wanted. This consisted of Pyro switching his lighter on and off while sitting on the sofa, with his feet propped up on the table, thinking of ideas for his next gothic novel. Colossus, Gambit, and Aussie were playing cards at the poker table that Gambit had set up, having stolen three of the kitchen chairs to use with said table. Gambit would every now and then light up a card and throw it at Pyro's feet in a mix of annoyance and amusement to stop him from playing with his lighter, and Aussie would try and look at Gambit's hand.

This, however, worked for about 2 minutes, as after Pyro recovered, he went right back to playing around with his lighter, laughing maniacally off and on. Blob was sitting in front of the television, having pulled one of the leather armchairs so that it was resting in front of the screen, with a huge bowl of cereal in his lap. In between shouting at Pyro to stop with the laughter and Gambit to stop throwing cards, he would eat his cereal and shout insults at the people on the television. Shot was at the opposite side of the sofa from Pyro and was shooting plastic bullets out of her two pointer fingers at a dartboard behind the pyromaniac, being careful to not harm the Australian mutant (on orders from Wanda), not really caring if she caused more holes to appear. Mastermind was sitting on the other available leather chair, his eyes closed, imagining himself in Bermuda soaking up the sun and pretending he never had heard of Magneto and owed him nothing.

Opal Key, a.k.a. Shot, is 15 years old and was born in the Bahamas but raised in Orlando, Florida. She is about 5 feet 5 inches tall with dyed dark purple hair, gray eyes, and a silver post in both ears and on her tongue. She also has a red scar that goes all the way down her right arm, from her shoulder to her wrist. This is a reminder of when she had been slashed by a local bully a few months ago and had to get it stitched up, and is one of the two newest members of the Brotherhood.

Her personality is one of a punk, not really following the rules but following them enough to make sure she doesn't get in trouble. She joined the Brotherhood for revenge, and like Wanda has no problem with hurting Todd once in a while. She uses anger as a cover but deep inside just longs for a true friend and a loving family.

Her ability's that of being able to shoot bullets of any material out of any of her fingertips on impulse. She got her powers when she and her family were being robbed. The thieves were about to shoot them and Opal shut her eyes and raised her hands in defense, her fingers pointing at the ceiling, and all of a sudden, a gunshot was heard and plaster came raining down on everyone present. Opal opened her eyes and looked up. She saw ten bullet holes in the ceiling and then she looked at her fingers and saw them smoking slightly, as a gun would after just having been fired.

The thieves panicked and started to run but Opal quickly realized what she could do and fired plastic bullets at each of them, hitting them in the legs and immobilizing them, then letting the cops come and get them. Her family instantly disowned her, letting her take a few of her most prized possessions and then put her out on the streets. A few days later Opal was scrounging around in a dumpster for food when she heard a whirring sound and spun around to meet Erik's eyes. He convinced her that she needed to join the Brotherhood and get revenge on her family for instantly disowning her and not giving any thought to her feelings. She instantly agreed and went back to Bayville with Erik.

Her uniform is a dark blue tank top, dark blue leather pants, a bright red belt, silver boots, light see through goggles to protect her eyes, and red gloves, which have no fingers so she is able to access her ability easily and quickly.

When not in battle she is seen in black jeans, a dark purple tube top, a black jean jacket, and silver necklaces and bracelets galore. She also wears silver boots and silver gloves with no fingers, and has one hell of an acid tongue, but all she really wants is a friend to confide in; which she has found in Wanda. Being that their families abandoned them both at sometime in their lives, they have a lot in common, not to mention that Opal helps Wanda with her drawings.

Leon Prince, a.k.a. Aussie, is 14 years old and was born in Sydney, Australia but was raised in New York City, New York, and therefore has no Australian accent. He has blond hair, blue eyes, and is 5 feet 6 inches tall. He also has a black earring in his right ear and a coral necklace.

His personality changes depending on his mood. For example, one day he'll be a jerk and snap at everyone and the next day he'll be apologizing for his actions and will be as nice as nice can be. Leon is also obsessed with training to get better control over his powers and is almost as obsessed with training as Wanda is, and sometimes is even more obsessed with training than Erik Lensherr himself.

His ability is that of being able to shift into any person or animal on thought. He got his powers at his middle school when some former friends were bullying him. He was pinned up against the cafeteria wall and was struggling to get loose. He closed his eyes in preparation for the final punch when he felt himself changing. He opened his eyes and stared into the faces of the bullies, who were looking at him in fear. They suddenly dropped him and ran off yelling how he was a "mutie".

Leon went home, gaining strange stares as he did so and when he looked in a mirror was shocked to find himself to be an exact copy of his school's principal. His voice was even that of his principal. As he watched, he suddenly saw himself morphing back into himself.

His parents were both former prison inmates for theft and saw their only child as a way to steal and not be caught. Leon then ran away and ended up in Bayville, where Todd found him huddled on a bench in the park. He convinced Leon to join the Brotherhood, remembering how he had lived on the streets at a much younger age than the shapeshifter and he didn't want that to happen again.

Leon also now knows that he will be safe from his parents, and after Remy heard about Leon's parents, he and the little thief became close friends, and they exchange thieving tips and will go out for the occasional theft, but not anything like Leon's parents wanted him to do. Leon is also able to control the amount of time he spends in another form and the height of the person or animal he takes the form of.

His uniform is a navy blue muscle shirt, black pants, black boots, and a yellow and red belt. When he activates his power and turns into an animal his uniform turns into the outer skin/scales of the animal, and when he turns into another human his outer form changes to imitate the person he's morphing into.

When not in battle, he is seen in torn, faded light blue jeans, a faded black T-shirt, and gray sneakers. Like his parents, Leon has some thieving abilities, but only a bit, and uses it to steal food in the middle of the night without letting Raven know. He also uses it to steal the win in a game of poker, which he wins every time, similar to how Remy plays and wins.

Anyway, as the mutants sat around in the living room, Fred was cursing at the television, as the picture had disappeared into static.

"Damn," muttered Fred as he pressed all the buttons on the remote, trying to find the one that would fix the screen while at the same time trying to take his beat-up sneakers off his feet, his dark brown t-shirt and dark blue jeans peeking out from underneath his white bathrobe. Fred's blue eyes were anxiously scanning the television, hoping against hope for some kind of miracle and to have his show back on again. He has a dark blond mohawk going down the middle of his head, as the rest of his head has no hair, and a blond goatee. "Hey, will someone please tell me which button'll fix the TV?"

"Well, mate," said John as he glanced over from his red lighter, one of the other forty lighters he has hidden throughout the house and training center underground. John was presently dressed in dark blue jeans with flames shooting down towards the ground, a dark-orange T-shirt, a dark blue jean jacket, and red sneakers. John's blue eyes settled themselves on Fred's confused face but he never stopped clicking his lighter. "Oy don' think that the remote's goin' to do the job. Wot you need to do is go up on the roof and fix the satellite dish." On seeing Fred's confused face, he let out a short sigh, went back to playing with his lighter, and then happened to glance down and saw a one of Remy's cards.

"Aw, shit," muttered John as the card exploded, but came out of it with just a minor cut on his cheek. After a minute of silence that reigned over the room, John went back to his lighter and started to lightly chuckle at Fred's predicament, as Fred was trying to fix the television once more by pressing the buttons on the remote, while Opal just chuckled darkly at the developing situation. ((I hope I did an ok Australian accent…))

"What'd John mean by that?" asked Fred confusedly as he stared around at the other mutants.

"He means you have to go up onto da roof of house and fix da satellite dish up there so that it gets a good signal, and then television will be ok," translated Piotr as he played cards with Remy and Leon when no one else answered. Piotr was currently dressed in light blue jeans, a light silver T-shirt, and black gloves, his usually ever-present sketchbook on the ground near his feet, and his short dark-blue, almost black hair was neatly combed. While he said this, he didn't take his black eyes off the game; he knew Remy too well to know that he might cheat if his opponent didn't keep their eyes on the game constantly. Doing this insured to a degree that Remy would be unable to pull one of his many card tricks that he had picked up from being an ex-gambler.

"Oh," said Fred as he looked down at the remote, which was about to be crushed by the amount of pressure he was putting on it from his attempts at trying to fix the television.

"Okay, I'll just go on the roof, and… oh, wait. If I go on the roof, I think I'll make a giant hole in it and make a sunroof. Anyone want that?" said Fred as he looked around the room and wondered who would go up on the roof and fix the dish for him, as they all knew he couldn't do it himself.

"No worries, yo!" exclaimed Todd as he came hopping in, and landed in front of Fred, who was looking at him hopefully. "I'll go up there and fix it for you, man!" Todd then hopped out the open window and onto the roof. A minute later they could hear him fiddling around with the satellite dish, and then heard a scream of pain from Todd. John rolled his eyes, figuring that Todd had gone and shocked himself again.

A few minutes later, the picture on the TV fixed itself and Fred yelled to Todd, "Hey Todd! The picture's fine! You can come down now."

Todd hopped back though the window, having jumped off the roof. He landed in the room and winced at the pain he felt on the landing and every move he made thereafter. He instantly yelped as he felt an electrical current run through him because of the jolt he'd received on the roof. "No prob- ahh! -lem, yo-ahh!"

The mutants suddenly turned to the chair where Jason sat with his black eyes closed, his thick black eyebrows and black hair making him resemble- physically- a monkey, as they had heard giggling coming from the telepath and illusionist. Jason was currently in black dress pants, a black turtleneck, a dark brown trench coat, black gloves, and black shoes. All the mutants in the room fell silent; even John stopped laughing as he listened for anything that could be used for blackmail material. He knew this was what everyone there, excluding Piotr, was listening for.

"Ladies, do calm down. I can help each and every one of you with your tanning. I myself am quite the expert of tanning…" muttered Jason as he imagined himself surrounded by a group of bikini-clad women who were begging him to give them tips on getting the perfect tan.

After a few minutes, the mutants staring at a giggling Jason turned to each other and involuntarily shivered, with Todd yelping in pain as he did so. Opal shot a metal bullet into the middle of the dartboard in an attempt to control her rage at Jason's irresponsibility with his powers. John then turned his attention back to his lighter, thinking 'That there is one messed up mate.'

"So, Todd, quel est la problème?" asked Remy as he turned his attention away from the illusionist whom he considered a tad eccentric and put down a hand containing 3 kings and an ace, and on hearing a moan issue from Piotr, knew he'd won the game; or so he thought. Remy was dressed in dark blue jeans, a dark brown T-shirt, his brown coat, brown gloves without fingers, and black sneakers, his red-on-black eyes shining brightly at the prospect of a win. Remy's dark brown, almost auburn hair was in its customary ponytail, which hung down his back.

"Not so fast there, Remy," spoke Leon as he looked over his hand at what Remy had just laid down on the table.

"What are tu (you) talkin' 'bout, Leon? Remy won the game, and that is that," responded Remy confidently, but his voice wavered a bit when he saw the teenager grin evilly.

"Oh nothing; except the fact that I beat you!" Leon crowed as he laid down a hand with three aces, a king, and a queen, and took the poker chips present on the table (not that they bet with real money; just with poker chips).

Everyone in the room, with the exception of Jason and Remy, were staring dumbfounded at the wining hand, then burst out laughing at the upset, one of the many entertaining games that had been emerging since Leon had joined.

"Mais (but) how is this possible? Remy cannot lose… Remy just can't!" moaned Remy as he put his head down in his hands and mourned his loss to Leon; again.

"It's okay pal. Maybe next time," said Leon as he got up and placed a friendly hand on the Cajun's shoulder. Remy lifted his head and a smile came upon his face. He took Leon's hand and shook, and they then began to clean up the table. ((I hope the hands I used for poker are actually true…))

After a few minutes, with Todd still yelping in pain, Remy turned to him and asked, "Todd, mon ami, quel est la problème?"

"What-ahh?" asked Todd as he looked stupidly in the Cajun's direction, as he had no understanding of the French language. The only person he knew who understood French was Rogue, but as she lived at the Institute, he had no clue what Remy had just said.

"I said, 'Todd, my friend, what is de problem?'" translated Remy as he finished gathering up his cards, and after putting them into one of his coat's many pockets, got up and walked over to Todd. Leon meanwhile had sat down beside Opal and was watching her shoot plastic bullets into the dartboard. Piotr had remained seated at the table, and had taken out his sketchbook and was drawing a caricature sketch of Remy being blown up by one of his own cards.

"Well, I'm getting fried- ahh! - every- ahh! -minute, and I can'- ahh! – stop," explained Todd as he told Remy the situation, screaming in pain every now and then.

Just then, Wanda walked in, and on seeing everyone looking at her, even John, she threw up her hands exasperatingly and said, "What is everyone staring at me for?"

Before anyone could respond, they heard Jason moaning in pleasure as he imagined himself being caressed by his wife, who in reality was dead. The mutants looked once more at Jason, who had an eerie smile on his face.

"Do I really want to know what he is imagining now?" asked Wanda as she turned her attention from Jason to the other mutants in the room. When everyone nodded no, Wanda grimaced as she felt one of Jason's illusions slip through her mental barriers. She then sent a hex-bolt at Jason and watched as he was sent flying out the open window. At the same time, Opal fired a plastic bullet out of her right pointer finger at the window, but it missed the opening and consequently Jason as it embedded itself in the wall. The mutants heard him yell as he was rudely brought back to reality and stifled their laughter as he poked his head back through.

"Now Wanda dear, whatever was that for?" asked Jason innocently as he climbed back in and looked at her. Even Wanda had to stifle back a chuckle as she looked at the disheveled and now burnt Jason.

"Next time you go into one of your trances, Mastermind, do try to keep your thoughts to yourself; both mentally and verbally," responded Wanda as she crossed her arms and scowled at the illusionist.

Jason blinked a few times and paused a minute to think of what to do and say, and then he bowed to Wanda and said, "So sorry, Wanda. I will try to be more careful in the future. My apologies…" Jason then stood up and looked at the men, not noticing Todd yelping in pain.

"I do hope I did not say anything too embarrassing," he politely asked the mutants, and when they all closed their eyes and grimaced a bit, Jason turned a bit red and said, "I see. If you will excuse me…" Jason then turned and walked quickly out of the room, hoping to salvage what respect the younger mutants still had for him.

After a minute, Wanda then asked, "Well, why was everyone staring at me before Mastermind interrupted us?"

"Well, sheila," began John seriously as he went back to flipping his lighter. (having stopped when Wanda had entered the room and when Jason had his little hexing) "The TV there went wacky, and Fred was told to go an' fix the dish, but couldn' do it because of his size, so Todd here said he'd do it, an' got himself shocked, and now he can' stop."

At these last words, John laughed a bit, but stopped when he saw the look Fred sent his way, and knowing what Fred could do to him, stopped laughing… for the time being, anyway, plus he saw Remy getting ready to hand him another one of his cards and Leon growling menacingly at him. John didn't particularly feel like getting a card blown up in his face at the moment nor being assaulted by a grizzly bear, as he saw Leon begin to change form. John knew about the bond Leon and Todd shared, as if it were not for Todd Leon would have starved on the streets and not known that he could ever have a real family that cared for him.

"You're serious?" asked Wanda in disbelief as she looked from John to Fred to Todd to Remy to Piotr to Leon and back to John. At nods from them (Fred, Piotr, Leon, and Todd, anyway) she crossed her arms and said, "Ok, so what do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, I was- ahh! - hopin' you'd- ahh! - use your powers to remove this- ahh! - electricity from-ahh! - me. Please?" pleaded Todd as he tried to use the same eyes that he'd tried earlier, his light brown eyes with a hint of gray in them trying to get past Wanda's icy-blue sapphire eyes. He lowered his gaze when he realized that they weren't working- again- and all the while yelping in pain every once in a while, which was not helping the matter.

Wanda, on seeing this, tried to ignore the voice that told her to help, and would've succeeded if she'd not caught John looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She also heard him silently pleading to help Todd, if only to shut him up. Sighing, she uncrossed her arms and began to mutter a chant. This consequently caused all of the electricity running through Todd to flow out of him and into her hands. She then took the energy and sent it out the still open window and into the sky, where it collided with a cloud, and exploded.

Todd then looked over at her like she was his hero (maybe she was) and said, "Yo, you love me!" He then leapt towards her but was stopped when he felt himself hovering in the air and saw himself about 10 feet off the ground, his head almost touching the ceiling. He glanced down fearfully and saw Erik, with his arm raised, poised in the doorway of the room with Pietro, Raven, and a cleaned up Jason behind him, and gasped.


	14. Todd's Punishment and the Plan

**Shout-Outs:**

**_todd fan: _**Thanks for reviewing! Payin' for it must suck but at least u don't have to beg for access…

**_A/N: _**Hey, here's another chapter, and once more, begging is a necessary tool in my gainin' access to the computer. Review please, and oh, review! ((Selfish, aren't I? ;) )) I also thank all of u who took the time to look at my fic.! ( I love the hits counter!)

**Disclaimer: **(Sporting an icepack and one massive headache) Ok… I'm not even going to say I own X-Men this time 'round, b/c I'm afraid of getting hit by another steel desk… bye for now…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 13: Todd's Punishment and the Plan**

_**Living Room, Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House, Bayville, NY- May 15, 11:25 PM**_

"Father…" asked Wanda warily as she looked from the floating Todd to her father. "Just exactly what did you do?"

Everyone then noticed where Wanda was looking, and were all surprised to see Todd floating up there. Piotr stopped drawing, Leon quickly morphed back into his human form, and Opal had stopped shooting bullets and was staring at Todd with surprise and fear evident on her face. Remy quickly folded the poker table and stood it up against the wall and Fred turned off the television, got up, quickly took off his bathrobe, and stared at one of his best friends with fear in his eyes. John even stopped flicking his lighter, but no one noticed except Wanda, who shot him a look of surprise.

"Nothing at all, daughter, except ensuring that he will never bother you again. Toad," said Erik as he looked from Wanda to the mutant floating in the air, "Did you forget your promise so soon? If you did, then I am afraid that I must punish you for breaking it and disobeying orders. However, I have need of you tonight, so I'll not punish you… hard."

With this, Erik swept his arm down, and because of the metal collar on his neck, Todd was flung down to the floor, and ended up with a few bruises from the impact, as Erik had supported him enough to not seriously injure him. He got up quickly, and with fear in his eyes once more, ran to hide behind Fred, who was quickly stuffing the cereal into his mouth so as to make sure that Raven didn't yell at him for eating… again.

As Todd was putting bandages on himself quickly from his stash of first aid supplies under the sofa he could hear Raven yelling at Fred for eating again, considering he had just eaten an hour ago, and that had been a big meal mind you. Todd also heard Erik ask Jason why he had come running down the stairs with some money, and heard Remy softly chuckle, with Pietro talking, or rather giving orders to Opal and Leon.

After a few minutes had passed, in which yelling could be heard from Raven, Erik quickly shut Raven up as he flung an arm in front of her, signaling that she was to remain quiet until given the signal to talk once more.

"Very well, now that that problem has been dealt with… we are moving out now," said Erik as he looked at his Acolytes and then at the Brotherhood. He then finally looked at Pietro, who was standing at full attention in front of the two new mutants, as if telling him to get his teammates ready to go.

"Yes, sir!" said the Brotherhood and Acolytes as they moved into position and stood to attention.

Piotr stood up to his full height and Remy got out a deck of cards, shuffled them, and lit one to show he was ready to go. John, flicking his lighter open again, brought out a flame and manipulated it to form a menacing grin, which he chuckled at, as he thought it was a good representation of how he felt about what they were going to do to the X-Men. Jason closed his eyes and projected into everyone's mind a picture of the defeat of the X-Men. Opal grinned evilly and lifted her hands to cross in front of her like she had two pistols, one in each hand. Leon shifted into his favorite form: a hawk, as it was small, maneuverable, and could see in the dark, along with being able to reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.

Wanda was standing there with her arms crossed, thinking sarcastically 'Oh good. Here we go again. Another one of my father's plans that will just probably fail like it always does. Why am I even with the Brotherhood? I have control over my powers so I could technically leave any time I wish, but I feel like I'm needed here for some reason. Plus, my friends Rogue, Kitty, and Lexie live at the Institute, so why would I even live with people who want to destroy my friends? Also, I know for a fact that Remy loves Rogue, and Lance still has feelings for Kitty, not to mention that my dear brother has a crush on Logan's daughter... I wish I had someone who cared about me the way Remy cares for Rogue and Lance for Kitty and maybe even Pietro for Lexie… '

Her eyes then softened as she looked at Remy, and she knew how deep his feelings for Rogue ran, and thought of how much Lance cared for Kitty, though he acted like he didn't. She took a quick glance at her brother and even thought of how nice her brother could be to a girl, and how he would get nervous whenever he saw Lexie. Wanda sighed sadly, and didn't notice John looking at her from the corner of his eye, thinking, 'God, she is beautiful. That there sheila is one hell of a woman. Oy wonder if she feels anythin' for me the way Oy think… Oy know… Oy feel 'bout her?' He then shook his head and didn't notice the nasty look directed at him by Todd.

While Fred was just standing up as straight as he could without making himself look like a fool, Todd had finished putting on his bandages and was now standing up straight next to Fred, but unlike Fred, his eyes weren't directed towards Erik, Raven, or even Pietro. Instead, they were focusing in on John, whom he felt was a threat to his future with Wanda.

'How dare that bastard think of goin' after Wanda, yo. How dare he even think of her, or even look at her?' thought Todd as he stared venomously at John.

Todd was so focused on trying to gain the ability to kill John with his looks that he didn't hear Pietro calling his name until he was jabbed sharply in the ribs as the speed-demon came up to him and elbowed him roughly in the stomach. This caused Todd to gasp in pain.

Todd, clutching his stomach, fell to the floor, and faintly heard Pietro yelling, "Todd, you idiot! What do you think you were doing, not listening to me? I mean, come on, I'm in charge of the Brotherhood! Got that?"

"Yeah, yo, I got it," whispered Todd as he slowly regained his breath and got to his feet, wincing every now and then at the pain present in his chest. He could feel Raven's eyes boring into him, daring him to do any more disobeying and see what happened, but Todd didn't want to risk it and just listened as Pietro told everyone the plan, including the parts on Sabretooth's demise and Lance's betrayal. At this, Todd's ears perked up, and he couldn't resist; he had to know.

"Yo, are you's saying that Lance betrayed us?" asked Todd cautiously, and this drew the attention of the other mutants who hadn't heard that statement before.

"Yes, Toad, I am," said Erik as he turned his eyes to the toad-like mutant. "He has betrayed us, and if he happens to be there at the Institute with the other X-Men, then make sure you all show him how we tolerate betrayal. Got that?"

At this everyone nodded and Erik signaled them to get into uniform, which they quickly did.

Pietro's uniform is blue in different shades, going from dark blue at the bottom to light blue at the top, and is tight to increase his speed even more. He also wears silver-colored boots and white gloves.

Raven's uniform is a black tank top and a short black skirt with black gloves and boots.

Todd's uniform is tight fitting dark green body suit that increases the speed he has and helps him jump even higher in battle. He also has black gloves that protect his hands from the impact he makes when landing from one of his jumps, silver boots, and a black belt. He will also sometimes wear a black jacket that reaches to his ankles, as he says it makes him look cool, and he was presently wearing said jacket.

Wanda's uniform consists of black boots, form-fitting black leather pants, a red corset top covered by a red tank top, a black trench coat, and black gloves with red streaks on them, almost in the shape of flames. She also wears a her silver charm bracelet, her black and red Celtic-cross necklace, and her dark blue earrings

John's uniform is a long-sleeved shirt and jeans in a mixture of red and orange, representing the colors of fire itself. He also wears orange gloves, light red goggles that he uses to protect his eyes from the fire, and silver boots. A silver jetpack that holds the fuel he needs to be able to produce fire resides on his back, with cables that connect to 2 blowtorches he wears, one on each hand.

Piotr's uniform is a black outfit, which consists of a muscle tank, jeans, and gloves that become invisible when he activates his armor. He has a silver "A" (for Acolyte) emblazoned on the back of his outfit, and when he activates his armor, the only parts of his clothing to be seen are his jeans and the "A" on his back turns from silver to black. The "A" is shown because Erik put a metal disk onto Piotr's back that has the "A" emblazoned on it. When he activates his armor the "A" shows itself on top of his armor and is a constant reminder to Piotr that he is an Acolyte and therefore Erik's servant.

Remy's uniform is a brown and black tight-fitting outfit with a blue stripe going from shoulder to shoulder with a dark brown trench coat over it. He also wears brown leather gloves and black combat boots. He will also sometimes wear a black bandana that helps to keep his bangs out of his eyes. In the coat's pockets, he stores his favorite weapon- decks of playing cards. When fighting, he's most often seen with his cards lit up, and also has a Bo staff -which can be mad as big or small as needed-, and although rarely used, is also stored in his coat. If he doesn't have his cards and pole on him, he uses the fighting skills he's picked up on the rough streets of New Orleans; so if needed, he's a pretty decent fighter in his own right. His stealth skills from being a former thief don't hurt either, along with his agility.

Fred's uniform is a pair of large black overalls with a light blue T-shirt, a dark green vest that's cut in places, and white tennis shoes.

Opal's uniform is a dark blue tank top, dark blue leather pants, a bright red belt, silver boots, light see through goggles to protect her eyes, and red gloves, which have no fingers so she is able to access her ability easily and quickly.

Leon's uniform is a navy blue muscle shirt, black pants, black boots, and a yellow and red belt. When he activates his power and turns into an animal his uniform turns into the outer skin/scales of the animal, and when he turns into another human his outer form changes to imitate the person he's morphing into.

Jason was already in uniform , which is black dress pants, black turtleneck, dark brown trench coat, black gloves, and black shoes, the same outfit he wears during the day.

Finally, Erik's uniform is a maroon and royal purple battle-suit, with a cape coming from his shoulders to his feet. He also wears black boots, purple gloves, and always wears his helmet, which is red and purple and comes down over his face, with a part covering his nose, so you only see slots for the eyes. This makes them seem to be a yellowish-color and the rest of his face is cast in shadow, but sometimes it will be shown, but not often.

Erik placed his helmet on his head, and after nodding as each of his "servants" reappeared in their uniforms, used his powers to summon the metal pods he had devised for quick travel. Once everyone was inside a pod he transported them out of the Brotherhood House for the attack on The Xavier Institute for the Gifted.

6


	15. Lost Beneath the Mansion and Introductio

**Shout- Outs:**

**_heartsyhawk: _**Welcome back to the fic.! Glad u liked the chap. And I thought Todd's still havin' a crush on Wanda after a decade would be fun to write. Wanda is one of my fav. Characters to write and I worked a long time on her personality. Enjoy, and do I have the rights to kill Carmen or not? Not quite sure…

**_todd fan: _**Thanx for the review and warning- Remy is my choice pick for Rogue, although I am open to Rogue/Piotr. Enjoy!

**_Numbuh 333 half way 2 hell: _**Welcome to the fic.! Glad u enjoyed readin' the prologue and 13 chap. up so far! Enjoy this chap. and I love ur penname!

**_Bleak: _**Welcome to the fic.! Kitty's valley-girl accent only surfaces if she gets really upset or nervous over something but otherwise it's nonexistent. Enjoy!

**_blondi: _**Welcome to the fic.! Glad you're enjoyin' this fic. I take bein' called a weird gal as a compliment. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: ** Now that my bump on the head is healed I'm goin' to enter this contest to see if I win the ownership of _X-Men: Evolution_, b/c I obviously don't own 'em now… 

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 14: Lost Beneath the Mansion and Introduction of X-Factor**

_**Underground Hallways, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 17, 11:57 PM**_

Meanwhile, back at the Institute, Lance and Kitty were lost in the hallways beneath the mansion.

"Man, I can't believe that the Professor would go and change the layout of the mansion just when we need to find the Danger Room," groaned Kitty as she and Lance found themselves in another dead hallway.

"How often does he do this?" asked Lance as he looked around at his surroundings, trying to remember the layout of the complex center from when he had been an X-Men for a short period of time, but failed to recall anything remotely useful.

"Hey Kitty, what do you think we should do now? I mean, it looks like we're at a dead end!" exclaimed Lance as he stopped looking around after realizing that it was in vain, and instead put his question to Kitty.

"I'm not sure," said Kitty as she put her chin into her hand and thought for a moment. "Hmm… wait!" exclaimed Kitty as she suddenly snapped her fingers as she thought of something. "Lance, do you think we should use our x-ray vision?"

"You mean to tell me that you seriously believed Beast when he said we have x-ray vision like Superman?" asked Lance sarcastically, earning him a withering look from Kitty.

"Yes, like Superman, and yes, I do believe him," retorted Kitty as she glared at him, and then turned her attention to the wall in front of them. "Hmm… I wonder how I activate it… wait, I know!" she murmured as she stared at the wall, closed her eyes, focused on using x-ray vision, and opened her eyes again. All of a sudden a bright yellow light came out of her eyes, startling Lance.

"What in the…" he murmured as he looked back and forth between Kitty's yellow eyes and the wall, and realized that he could now see the other side of the wall. He saw a stairwell that he suddenly remembered was some kind of emergency exit, located a few hallways away from the Danger Room entrance.

"Kitty, you're brilliant!" exclaimed Lance as the light faded. Kitty blinked a few times to get readjusted to the lighting in the underground hallways and, smirking at Lance's remark, turned to him and said, "Just like Superman, right?"

"Yeah, just like Superman," said Lance as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then turned around and motioned to her that they continue their search, having her phase them through the wall and start searching from the stairway on.

_**Uniform Storage Area, Danger Room Annex, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 17, 11:35 PM**_

As Lance and Kitty rushed through the lower levels of the Institute trying to get to the Danger Room, the X-Factor team was late in getting to the training session that Jean and Scott had called- again- in the middle of the night, waking up all three teams that currently resided in the mansion- the X-Men, X-Factor, and X-Sword teams. The members of X-Factor, the middle team of the three, were supposed to be role models for the younger X-Sword team but unfortunately were just as bad as X-Sword, if not worse…

"Bobby Drake, get your ass back here now!" screamed Jubilation Lee as she ran into the uniform storage area, completely soaked, ice cubes in her hair. Jubilee's clothes currently consisted of light blue jean-shorts, a bright yellow T-shirt, blue sneakers, black gloves with the fingers cut off, and her bright yellow jacket; all of which were soaked.

Jubilee's black eyes scanned the room, looking for her boyfriend and landed on Lexie, Rogue, Sam, and Rahne, all of them already in their uniforms and apparently waiting for the others to arrive.

Lexie's uniform is a black tank long-sleeved shirt, black jeans, black boots and gloves, both of which have openings for her claws. She also has a silver stripe running from shoulder to shoulder, a red and black belt with the "X" emblazoned in the middle of it in black and silver (the "X") and silver and black "X's" on her shoulders. The clawed mutant currently looked like she was half-dead, still not having gotten used to waking up at 11:00 PM at night for anything less than a mission; like father like daughter.

Rogue's uniform consists of a green and black uniform with a black air bomber jacket on top of it and a black "X" in red on each shoulder of the jacket along with a red and black belt that hangs low on her waist and accentuates her outfit. She wears hunter green boots that go to just under her knees and green gloves to just under her elbows. Rogue too looked like she was going to fall asleep but unlike her friend Lexie looked like she was closer to the grave, considering her emerald eyes were practically closed and she was breathing steadily, her chin resting on her gloved right hand.

Sam's uniform is dark blue with dark orange gloves, dark yellow boots, and the symbol for "air" in Greek on his chest and on either side of the silver "X" on black situated in the middle of his red and black belt. Also, when he "cannonballs" through the air and crashes into someone or something, his uniform remains intact. When he seems to be floating in air, those who look at him from below think he is a real cannonball, and not Sam himself. Sam looked like he was watching the doorway for someone to enter at any moment. Jubilee smirked; she knew exactly who Sam was looking for.

Rahne, out of the four mutants, looked like she was the most awake of them all, considering her wolf-like instincts kept her up late most nights. Her uniform is black, brown, and forest green, which is her favorite color, and adds to her already extensive camouflage skills, dark green gloves, black boots, and the symbol of the moon on her gloves, chest, and on either side of the silver "X" on black situated at the center of her red and black belt. Rahne's emerald eyes rested on Jubilee and she asked, "What happened to ye, Jubilee?"

At Rahne's words Lexie nearly fell off the bench she was sitting on, her sensitive hearing making Rahne's question echo ten times louder than it should have while Rogue twitched and slowly opened her eyes, it taking a moment for her to focus on the firecracker. Sam continued watching the door; he knew what Bobby had been planning to do that evening and also knew to not interfere in whatever was going on between the two.

"Oh, let's just say that my boyfriend thinks it's funny to dump a bucket of ice cold water- complete with about 100 ice cubes- on me when I'm trying to get out of my room and down here for this stupid training session. Don't our favorite "teachers" know the meaning of the words "no late-night sessions?"

Lexie yawned and pointed out sarcastically, "Obviously not, or else I'd still be dreaming of tracking down Hydra, slicing each and every head off and mounting them on pikes for the world to see."

Jubilee backed up a bit after hearing Lexie say this and then went to her storage area, which had her uniform and sports equipment in it and grabbed her uniform, mumbling under her breath about the punishment Bobby was going to get when she next saw him. A few minutes later she came of a changing stall and showed off her uniform to the four other mutants, all of whom rolled their eyes in amusement and in Sam's case indifference. Jubilee's uniform is dark blue with bright yellow gloves, black boots, a firework pattern in yellow and orange over the blue, a re and black belt with a silver "X" on black in the middle, and her much-beloved yellow jacket covering it. Jubilee pushed her goggles- that she uses to protect her eyes when she uses her powers- on top of her shoulder-length black hair to keep it out of her eyes for the moment.

Suddenly yelling could be heard coming towards the five mutants and Jubilee, recognizing her boyfriend's voice motioned for the other four to be quiet and stationed herself right in front of the door, knowing Bobby always liked to be the first one through the door.

Soon enough, the door slid open to reveal a light brown-eyed, light brown haired young man- Bobby Drake. Bobby, who was arguing with someone over his shoulder, didn't see Jubilee in front of him until he slammed into her and landed on his rear-end. Bobby was currently dressed in light blue jeans, a dark blue shirt with yellow stripes at the cuffs, and white tennis shoes.

"Hey, Bobby. Cool night, isn't it?" Jubilee asked icily, staring down at her boyfriend with daggers in her eyes, her fingers sparking a bit.

Bobby's eyes widened and he said, "Jubes! Hey! Um… that water wasn't for you it was for Jean… I guess I forgot which room she and Scott are in…"

"Drake, you'd forget which room was yours if you didn't have Sam as your roommate, and considering he remembers almost everything you're lucky," rang an angry voice from behind Bobby, who quickly jumped to his feet and tried to hide behind Jubilee- key word hide- but soon found himself face to face with an angry Ray Crisp. Ray's yellow hair, complete with its customary orange tips, were a mess, signaling he had just gotten out of bed, but it seemed he had had time to put his four silver posts earrings, two in each ear, in. Ray's clothes at the moment consisted of black jeans, a white tank top, a dark brown jacket, orange tennis shoes, and brown biker gloves.

"I do so know where my room is!" Bobby protested, having had a spurt of courage to stare back into Ray's light blue eyes, which looked like they were going to explode from the amount of electricity that Bobby could see in them.

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

Before another round could start two identical looking men pushed apart the two mutants and signaled another man, who looked exactly the same as them, to come in. This man was none other than Jamie Madrox, who was dressed in dark brown khakis, a dark red shirt, and black sneakers. Jamie's eyes, usually a dark brown, looked black and his dark brown hair was sticking up at all angles; like Ray, he had just gotten out of bed.

"You guys need to shut up now!" Jamie gritted out from between clenched teeth, signaling his two clones to return to him. He hated having to be the moderator between Bobby and Ray, but unfortunately, he was one of the few team members both would listen to at the same time.

Bobby and Ray looked at Jamie and, grunting in agreement, marched off to go and put on their uniforms, followed by Jamie, who was sadly shaking his head.

While the three men were changing the rest of X-Factor walked, or rather stumbled into the room, most still trying to rub sleep out of their eyes.

Alex Masters, Scott's younger and polar opposite brother, was the first in, followed by his girlfriend Lorna Dane. Behind the two was Amara Aquilla, who had a brush with her and was combing out her waist-length black hair in long strokes. Tabitha Smith followed her roommate, blowing a large pink bubble that popped as she stumbled over the threshold to the room, falling into the Sam's open arms. Both adults blushed a little and quickly looked away from each other, not catching a jealous look shot at them from across the room. Next was Danielle Moonstar, who looked like a zombie, considering she had dark circles under her eyes and was carrying what smelt like, to Rahne and Lexie anyway, a freshly brewed cup of tea. Following Danielle came the last member of X-Factor- Roberto Da Costa, who was trying to not fall asleep because he hadn't had a chance to absorb any sunlight, even artificial sunlight, since early that evening and was exhausted.

Alex's light blond hair was down to his shoulders as usual and his light brown eyes scanned the room before landing on Jubilee, whose hair was still wet. He yawned and asked, "What happened to your hair, Jubes?" Alex was dressed in jean shorts, flip-flops, a white tank top, a Hawaiian print shirt (open in the front), and his favorite shark tooth necklace.

Lorna looked over at Jubilee and voiced the same concern, "Jubilee, are you okay?" Lorna's emerald eyes focused worriedly on the co-leader of her team, her long, waist-length emerald hair in a braid to keep it out of her eyes. Lorna was dressed in dark brown khakis, a green T-shirt, and white sneakers, wearing a Hawaiian shark tooth necklace, a gift from Alex a couple of years ago.

Jubilee looked at her teammates and friends and told them, "Yeah, except that Bobby dumped a bucket of ice water on me tonight."

"It was an accident!" rang Bobby's voice from a changing stall, and a moment later he emerged in his uniform, which consisted of dark blue with dark yellow gloves and boots, a light blue stripe running from shoulder to shoulder and an icicle emblem on his chest. His uniform, like every uniform for the X-Factor team, has a red and black belt with a silver "X" on black situated at the waist. Bobby has a second uniform, which consists of surrounding and encasing his whole body in ice if need be, thereby changing his eyes from brown to light green. In this uniform the only thing that can make him revert back to his human form is heat.

Jubilee snorted and, turning her back on Bobby, replied, "Yeah right."

Bobby was about to say something when he saw Ray and Jamie come out from changing into their uniforms, Ray still looking angry with Bobby and Jamie looking like he'd rather do anything else than break up another fight.

Ray's uniform is completely black with dark yellow gloves, dark brown boots, a bright yellow lightning bolt going from shoulder to shoulder, and a lightning bolt on either side of the "X" on his belt.

Jamie's uniform is a mix between black and dark brown, with silver specks on it, along with brown boots and black gloves. His uniform also has silver shoulder pads, and if one looks closely, the words "Multiple Rules!" are on them. Sometimes his teammates tease him about his shoulder pads but he deals with this by threatening them with blackmail, as he, like Kitty, can be evil in his own way. This shuts them up.

"Bobby, just tell Jubes you're sorry and then go and apologize to our teachers for being late, okay?" Amara all but yelled before Ray could yell again, her brown eyes flashing angrily as her brush met a big knot in her hair. Amara was currently wearing a bright red T-shirt, gray slacks, black shoes, and a gold necklace she'd brought with her from Nova Roma.

"Even if he does apologize I doubt Jubilee's in any mood to accept said apology," commented Tabitha, or as she liked to be called Tabby, as she walked by the angry Nova Roman princess on her way to grab her uniform, winking at Sam as she did so. Tabby was currently dressed in bright pink tank top, a black jean jacket, dark blue jeans, brown hiking boots, and brown rock-climbing gloves, her bright yellow hair down to her chin in a short French braid and her blue eyes sparkling with life and mischief.

"Why not?" Danielle, or Dani for short, asked after she had taken a sip of her tea. Dani wore her waist-length black hair that was currently hanging loose, her black eyes scanning the room from her position near the now closed door. She was currently wearing light brown leather slacks, a white T-shirt, a silver vest, and light brown moccasins.

"Maybe because she knows that Bobby'll probably 'accidentally' dump another bucket on her later tonight or tomorrow," Ray spat out as he leant against the doorframe, his fingers sparking with built-up electricity.

"Get off their backs Crisp," commented Roberto, who had been sitting next to his girlfriend Rahne, her head leaning comfortably on his right shoulder. Roberto's near-black hair was neatly combed, like always, and his black eyes were glaring dangerously at Ray, who glared right back. Roberto had yet to change into his uniform and so was in his normal clothes, which consisted of dark green khakis, a black T-shirt with an orange streak from shoulder to shoulder, a dark maroon jacket, and white tennis shoes.

Another glaring contest began, this time between Ray and Roberto, whose history together was not so great; one of the main reasons that Xavier had separated them after less than a year as roommates. Currently, Ray's roommate was Jamie and Alex was Roberto's.

After a few minutes Rogue had had enough and got up from her position on a metal bench that ran the length of the room. "Alright y'all! Get in yahr uniforms and report, stat, up to the Danger Room. Believe meh when Ah say that Ah don't wanna have to give yah another Danger Room session in two hours."

The members of X-Factor mock-saluted the Southern Belle who did the same and started to walk towards the door that led to the Danger Room and the remaining mutants who had to get uniforms on did so, Roberto gently waking Rahne up from her short nap before he moved to go change.

A few minutes later everyone else was uniformed and everyone took a chance to see each other, as they had just been given permission to design their own uniforms two weeks prior and were still getting used to the new uniforms' looks.

Tabby's uniform was black with red, orange, blue, and white flecks scattered all over it, but the black covers them up enough so that no one really notices unless they look carefully at it. Tabby also has yellow gloves and boots, with a picture of one of her bombs on her chest.

Amara's uniform was smoky black-gray color, representing the smoke from a volcano, and has red stripes going from shoulder to shoulder, and from her shoulders to the edges of her gloves. She has dark gray gloves, black boots, and a small picture of a volcano on her chest, representing her connection to the Earth's core itself.

Danielle's uniform was next to gander inspection, and it was dark blue with a white streak going from shoulder to shoulder and a light gray stripe going from each of her shoulders to the beginning of her gloves. She has white gloves, light gray boots, and white flecks spread all over her uniform.

Lorna's uniform was black with silver circles on her shoulders and gloves. She has black gloves, black boots, and a dark green belt with a silver "X". She also had on her dark green glasses in order to protect her eyes from the magnetic shock waves that she may accidentally create when she activates her magnetic abilities.

Alex's uniform black with white concentric circles spread over it, white gloves, black boots, and a white belt with a black "X" on it. This belt isn't ordinary like the others' as it helps him keep control over his powers, the energy of which flows throughout his body 24/7.

Roberto's uniform was black with red and orange stripes running down from his shoulders to the edges of his dark yellow gloves. He has dark yellow boots, along with a sun emblem on his gloves and chest. His belt has an orange streak along with the red and black on it already. When he shifts into his "sunspot" form this acts as a second uniform and covers his clothes completely. When in this form his eyes become solid black and his body a mix of black, orange, dark yellow, and red flicks of energy, resembling the Sun's surface, just darker in color. When he releases solar energy his uniform isn't burnt and like Sam his is such that when he turns into his sunspot form his uniform doesn't get burnt.

"Alright, since everyone's in uniform…" began Bobby as he clapped his hands together but trailed off when he saw that Ray was still glaring at him and gulped nervously. "let's get up to the Danger Room and show them all how mutant dodge-ball is done."

As Bobby finished speaking the whole team got evil looks on their faces, which didn't bode well for their "teachers" Jean and Scott…

A couple of minutes later with Bobby and Jubilee having made up through a whispered apology from Bobby and a quick kiss from one to the other X-Factor emerged into the Danger Room and found the senior X-Men having some fun with Jean and Scott. The whole team nodded imperceptibly and ran towards the battle scene, not willing to let the X-Men have all the fun.

"X-Factor, gather behind me!" commanded Bobby as he slid to a stop in his prime battling position, shifted into his ice form, and formed two large snowballs in his hands.

"Right behind you, Bobby," commented Jubilee as she pulled her goggles down and aimed her outstretched hands at Scott and Jean.

Ray smirked evilly at Scott and smashed his fists together, which caused sparks to fly out from them.

Jamie clapped his hands and five clones instantly appeared and began to advance slowly on Scott and Jean, all of them with identical evil smiles on their faces.

"You ready to go down?" asked Roberto as he deftly melded into his "sunspot" mode and cracked his knuckles.

Tabby simply blew another big pink bubble, popped it, and began chewing it in her mouth once more. She then quickly formed a handful of small orange and black bombs, showing them to Scott and Jean when she finished, watching for their reaction.

Amara flared into her "magma" form, leveled both her arms, and gazed at the two adults, no compassion in her eyes.

Dani merely smirked and stared at Scott, forcing him to avert his gaze so he didn't fall for her tricks.

Alex just stood back and smiled, imagining what his sister-in-law was going to look like after the attack.

Lorna took to the air, and, using her magnetic powers, floated above the rest of her team.

Rahne shifted into her werewolf form and growled menacingly at her two "leaders", making sure to show her sharp fangs.

Sam, like Lorna, took to the air and prepared to launch himself at Jean.

Lexie, who was standing to the right of Jubilee, devilishly grinned at the sight of a very nervous Scott.

The current X-Factor team mentioned above has existed since 2009, when Alex and Lorna came to live at the Institute permanently. The team, although they have their disagreements, all agree on one thing: Scott and Jean must suffer at any chance possible, and the whole team loves it when they are the ones to cause their "instructors" to become humiliated and in trouble.


	16. Introduction of the XSword Team and som

**Shout- Outs:**

**_heartsyhawk: _**Thanx for the review! Carmen will die soon… I just have to come up with just the right death scene… thanx a lot for the info. on Lorna! Appreciate it! Enjoy and update ur fics. soon!

**_todd fan: _**Thanx for the review! Enjoy and update ur fics. soon!

Disclaimer: My certificate was washed out to sea w/ the tide… "sob…" -Good news… I own all of the X-Sword team and if u want to use them make sure to ask me first… enjoy! 

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 15: Introduction of the X-Sword Team and some Nasty Comments**

_**Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 17, 11:37 PM**_

The X-Sword Team ((which I own!)) only came to the Institute recently, so they don't have much control over their powers, but are slowly learning. The team consists of Tyne Elm, Erica Weiss, Laura Corde, Lynn Flame, Brittany Thomson, Rex King, Devon Padlock, Mark Disc, Aaron Harmon, and Ross Kole. They were standing alongside X-Factor, who had just arrived to have some fun, and the team knew that the training exercise would help them in honing their powers because Jean and Scott were considered by Xavier to be some of the more powerful mutants in the world, but not necessarily the nicest. Like almost all of the mutants living at the Institute, the whole of X-Sword hate Jean and Scott, and so take great pleasure in harming them in any way they are able to.

Tyne Elm, a.k.a. Wing, is 18 years old and was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq. She has medium blond hair with dark brown streaks in it, blue eyes, and is 5 feet 8 inches tall. She also has two eagle feathers in her hair, one on the right side and one on the left side. She is the leader of X-Sword as she showed great leadership skills and promise on her arrival at the Institute.

Her personality's that of being somewhat of a recluse because she is afraid of getting too close to anyone for fear that she will be hurt again, but she does like to have fun, especially when it comes to cooking, as she is excellent at it. She is giving Kitty cooking lessons, as Kitty still doesn't know how to cook something without making it into a culinary disaster- even after she took 50 cooking lessons, with her cooking skills not improving in the least. When needed she will leap into action and take command of the situation.

Her powers are of being able to morph into any species, color, or size of bird she wants to and take to the sky, thus her codename. She got her powers one day when she was at home and her father came home drunk. He started to abuse her, and was about to kill her when all of a sudden she changed into a dark brown parrot and flew away and never returned, as Xavier came and recruited her. It was at this time that she received the streaks and feathers (they're permanent) in her hair.

Her uniform is the basic new recruit uniform- dark blue with yellow gloves, boots, and a red and black belt with a silver "X" on black on it. She has taken the liberty, however, of having her belt in shades of brown with a white "X" on it and the symbol of a feather between her shoulder blades.

When not in battle she is seen in light gray pants, a tan shirt, white sneakers, and will have a silver bracelet on her wrist, the only thing she has left of her mother who died when she was four. She can never go back to Baghdad because her family disowned her immediately after she first morphed. She overheard them talking as she was getting her stuff from her room quickly before leaving for America, and didn't dare leave without her mother's bracelet. She has shed her customary outfit from Baghdad so she can really feel like she is starting over.

"X-Sword, follow my lead!" commanded Tyne as she ran and positioned herself beside Bobby.

Erica Weiss, a.k.a. Reflection, is 17 years old and was born and raised in Augusta, Maine. She has black hair, brown eyes, two silver hoops in her left ear, and is about 5 feet 6 inches tall.

Her personality is one of anger, distrust, and fear. Erica lived on the streets since her parents died when she was 10, and so learned not to trust anyone and to fear what she didn't understand. She used anger to get herself out of tough spots and to make herself feel like she was actually doing something that made a difference in the world. She will stand up for those who are being bullied, and will help those in need if it is in her power to do so. She is slowly learning to trust people once more, and is becoming more like a typical teenage girl.

Erica's power is to reflect any attack with any part of her body, physical or not, back at its owner with double the force that it originally had. She got her powers when she was involved in a street scuffle with some boys who liked to pick on her, and punches were thrown. She was pinned to the ground, with one of the guys sitting on her stomach. He threw a punch at her and she raised her arms in defense and closed her eyes, fearing for the worst, but then heard the boy scream in pain. She opened her eyes and saw the boy clutching his hand in pain as a huge black and blue mark was forming rapidly, covering all of his hand. It was then she realized that she had caused him pain, and fought off the remaining bullies and began to learn what she could now do. Xavier then found her and she reluctantly agreed to go with him.

Her uniform is the typical new recruit uniform except for a very light silver streak she added going from the base of her neck down the whole of her back and down to the bottom of her ankles, shining like a mirror. This shows off her codename, as one can see a kind of reflection in the streak itself.

When not in battle Erica is seen in black jeans, a gray shirt, a brown vest, and gray gloves. She is most often seen with Tyne, as the both of them are now on their own and both can relate to each other better then they can with any of the others; especially the adults.

"You got it," said Erica as she followed Tyne and cracked her knuckles, ready to activate her power at a moment's notice.

Laura Corde, a.k.a. Stella, is 16 years old and was born and raised in Tampa Bay, Florida. She is about 5 feet 5 inches tall, with light, almost white, blond hair, and bright red eyes that need to be kept contained by either blue quartz glasses or a visor in the daytime or in battle. She is of Seminole Indian heritage and proud of it.

Her personality's that of a shy girl who will help out her friends no matter what the consequences. If in her power, she would bring peace to the world, but since she can't do that she acts as the peacemaker on her team, making sure everyone gets along and no one would try and destroy the cause she strongly believes in, which is that mutants and humans can live together in peace one day. She has a faint southern accent.

Her ability's to shoot white beams of energy in the form of stars out of her eyes. Like Scott, she needs to contain them, so Xavier made blue quartz glasses and a visor for her so that the beams can be contained. Unlike Scott, she only needs the blue quartz in the daytime, as the sunlight bothers her eyes and makes it more difficult for her to control the beams, but at night when she sleeps she has no need of them.

Laura's eyes and hair were both originally black and changed color when she got her powers at her junior prom. She was slow-dancing with her boyfriend and then kissed him. She could feel her emotions reaching their peak, and knew that her boyfriend's were as well. All of a sudden she was bumped and her kiss was broken. She felt a surge of energy enter her head and all of a sudden white beams of energy came out of eyes and knocked her boyfriend into the dance hall's wall and knocked him unconscious. She covered her eyes and ran out of the dance hall, tears falling down her face as she ran. She didn't notice until later that her hair had turned almost white blond and her eyes had become blood red.

Her uniform is like the others but differs in that she has a white star on each yellow glove and the blue quartz visor itself. She is proud of her uniform and out of all of the members on her team works the hardest, as she wants to gain control over her powers as soon as possible to prevent another incident like what had happened before from happening again.

When not in battle she is seen in white jeans, a roan-colored sweater, and dark blue boots. She is also seen in her blue quartz glasses, and will often times be seen trying to settle an argument on her team before it gets out of control.

Laura put a hand to her visor, so similar to Scott's, and prepared to fire at Jean.

Lynn Flame, a.k.a. IceBreath, is 14 years old and was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland. She is about 5 feet 4 inches tall with bright red hair that she wears in a ponytail, and cerulean-blue eyes that are always sparkling with determination.

Her personality's that of being a serious sports player and throwing herself into everything she does. She is best friends with Laura, and like her friend, strives to keep the peace on the team, but even their efforts combined don't always work.

Her ability's that of being able to breathe ice of any size out of her mouth on thought. She got her power when she was 13 but wasn't detected by Xavier until a year later. It was at a football (soccer) game in Dublin. She had just been fouled badly by her rival on the opposing team and was knocked to the ground. She had been about to scream to the referee that she had been fouled when ice the size of the soccer ball itself came out and froze her rival's legs in place. It had taken her a few minutes to figure out what had happened and when she realized what she had done she'd run from the game, with her parents following worriedly. They had talked it over and her parents had wholeheartedly accepted that she was a mutant.

When Xavier contacted her a year later she had jumped at the chance to travel to America but promised her parents she would visit as often as she could, and she does do this.

Her uniform is the typical uniform except for the fact that she wears goggles on her face to protect herself from the ice that she blows out of her mouth in battle.

When not in battle she is seen in red pants, a dark blue sweater, and black sneakers. Lynn is very eager to learn about her powers, but even more eager to learn about American fashion, and Amara has gladly taken Lynn under her wing to show her the ways of American fashion. She is also under Roberto's training schedule for football, or rather soccer, as she is the newest recruit to his soccer team at the Institute.

Lynn, like Bobby, prepared to use her power, but she first pulled her goggles over her eyes and blew a small streak of ice, letting it melt just before it hit Scott.

Brittany (nickname Britt) Thomson, a.k.a. Animal, is 13 years old and was born and raised on a horse farm in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is about 5 feet 2 inches tall, with dirty-blonde hair she wears in a loose and messy bun, dark brown eyes, and dark brown glasses.

Her personality is that of being a girl obsessed with the environment and the protection of all of the animals. She will put her heart and soul into her environmental work, often forgetting to eat. She is also known as a bit of prankster, but what she loves to do is prank Bobby and Jubilee, and often succeeds in not getting herself caught.

Her ability's that of being able to talk to any animal imaginable, either vocally or telepathically. She got her ability when she was watching the family vet put down her favorite horse. She asked if she could say good-bye privately, and when she did, she heard her horse say "Good-bye, and thank you for everything you did for me, Britt," as clear as if he was speaking English, which to her he was. Her family was surprised at this, but accepted her mutation with a bit of convincing. When Xavier asked her to come to the Institute she was at first reluctant, but when she heard of the many animals living the grounds she went willingly.

Her uniform's difference lies in the clear speaker she has attached to her, as it amplifies her voice and lets her not only talk to an animal in its native own tongue but also telepathically. She also has a small picture of her horse that she wears in a locket around her neck, as she says that he is her inspiration in working to gain control over his powers.

When not in battle she is found in regular blue jeans, a light pink T-shirt, and stable boots. She works with Rahne in the animal clinic on the grounds and with the horses that Xavier brought in a few years ago. She is slowly learning to control her powers and is making remarkable progress on how many animals she can talk to at once.

Britt stepped up behind Tyne, ready to communicate with her leader if she shifted into her bird form whenever necessary.

Rex King, a.k.a. Inkart, is 18 years old and was born and raised in Copenhagen, Norway. He is fluent in both Norwegian and English, making it very easy for him to communicate with his comrades. He has short black hair with dark green streaks, green eyes, and is 6 feet tall.

His personality's similar to Piotr in that he likes to keep to himself, but also shows strength in doing what he wants and breaking rules when he feels it necessary. Rex has shown this will of his on few occasions, as he is usually busy drawing and learning to control his powers, but when he does show his strength it's best to not get in the way. Rex is second-in-command of X-Sword, and was chosen for the position because of his inner strength, which he exemplifies even when he doesn't act on it. He is also one of the more respected X-Sword members by both the older students and his team.

His ability is when he draws anything and runs his hand(s) over it or something not drawn by him, the drawing comes to life. He got his powers at an art competition in his hometown. One of his competitors knocked down his paintings and as he ran his hand over them, trying to smooth out the tears he found present while trying to push back his anger, he was surprised to see his drawings come to life in front of his eyes and begin to attack his competitor. Rex yelled out to them to stop, and they did stop and came back to sit in front of him, and stared at Rex.

After a few moments, with everyone in the show watching the scene with interest and fear, Rex told them to return to the paintings and they did, and Rex was immediately disqualified. Rex's family was reluctant to accept his mutation and then gladly sent him to Xavier's, but didn't disown him.

When Rex uses his ability with any painting, he has control over said painting and any/all aspects of it, being able to control their motions, the drawing's look, and so on. He always carries a notebook and a pencil and/or pen with him so he can practice gaining control over his drawings.

His uniform is the same as any new recruit uniform, except he wears a specially designed belt that lets him carry his notebook and drawing supplies with him to unleash his powers. He is also in a special training program with Rogue so he can learn hand-to-hand combat in case his drawing abilities fail.

When not in battle he is seen in light brown khakis, a hunter green sweater, brown shoes, and always with a pencil or pen stuck behind his ear and a drawing pad under his arm.

Rex took out his notebook and quickly drew a large jade-green lion, waved his hand over the drawing, and brought it to life. He then watched Scott's face begin to pale after the lion roared loudly.

Devon Padlock, a.k.a. SeaForm, is 17 years old and was born in Key West, Florida but was raised in Avon, North Carolina, on the Outer Banks. He has blond hair, turquoise eyes, a slightly dark skin complexion, and is 5 feet 8 inches tall.

His personality is that of a carefree guy who longs for the life he left behind in Avon. He is a born surfer because of his mix of Hawaiian and Swedish heritage, both heritages giving him a love for the ocean and a yearning to be as near to it as possible. He also gets bored easily so he isn't really one of those people who's able to stay focused on one thing for a long time. He and Alex get along well because of their shared love of surfing, so they practice in the pool as much as they can, as the pool can be programmed to create waves for surfing (an addition from when Alex became a member of X-Factor).

His ability is that of changing into any sea creature imaginable, even those that are extinct, and has both lungs and gills, making him able to live on both land and water. He got his abilities when he was surfing and was suddenly attacked by a Great White Shark. He was trying to get back to shore as quickly as he could but the shark cut him off.

All of a sudden he felt himself changing and was unable to breathe. He dove into the water just as the shark clamped down on his surfboard and then he morphed into a Blue Whale. He then chased the shark off, changed into a crab, crawled upon the beach and changed back into himself. No one in his family knows about his mutation and he wants to keep it that way.

He came to Xavier because he convinced his family to let him go up North to learn how to become an accountant, which is what his parents want him to be, when in reality he came to get help with his powers.

His uniform's dark blue with light blue gloves and black boots. He also wears a waterproof transmitter so he can transmit telepathically and verbally when he has changed/ is about to change. He also trains with Rex and Rogue to learn hand-to-hand combat.

When not in battle he is often seen in jean cutoffs, sandals, a dark blue tank top, and sometimes a light green jacket. He is often seen near the pool where he can practice his powers in peace.

Devon just got into a martial arts position, ready to fight hand-to-hand if necessary.

Mark Disc, a.k.a. Vine, is 16 years old and was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is part Apache Indian and part Spanish, and is proud of his background. He has black hair, green-blue eyes, a light green skin tint, and is about 5 feet 8 inches tall in height, with a dark green hoop in his left ear.

His personality's that of being a loner, thinking he doesn't need anyone else to help him but himself. He knows deep down that all he wants is someone whom he can trust as a friend, and someone who will love him for who he is, and not who he is supposed to be, which is how his family loved him.

His ability's that of shooting thorny vines, or just plain vines, out if all ten fingers and he can also adjust the strength and length of said vines. He got his powers when he was on a school field trip. He was admiring the view over the cliff when he was suddenly pushed from behind. He fell off the cliff and panicked, but then thorny vines suddenly shot out of his fingers and grabbed a hold of a tree at the top of the cliff and Mark managed to pull himself up.

This was when his eyes went from their original black to green-blue and his skin got a pale green tint to it. He scared everyone away and it was there and then he became a loner on the outside. His family soon disowned him and he is now on his own, with the only contact left with his family being his youngest cousin by E-mail, who is the only family member to have accepted his mutation.

His uniform is dark blue like the others, with yellow boots and yellow gloves with no fingers. He also has a dark green and brown stripe running down from his shoulder to his gloves to show his mastery over vines that come from the earth and that he draws his strength from them.

When not in battle he is seen in torn dark jeans, a hunter green tank top, a black jean jacket, and a dark brown bandanna, a Christmas gift from his cousin a year ago, which he cherishes.

Mark closed his eyes and vines came out of his fingers, ready at Mark's signal to ensnare Scott and Jean.

Aaron Harmon, a.k.a. Healer, is 15 years old and was born and raised in San Diego, California. He has short light brown hair, hazel eyes, and is 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a small scar on his chin, a remnant from his past that is permanent.

His personality's that of being laid back and a genius at the same time. He, like Forge and Hank, has a high IQ, but unlike them, he doesn't really use it. He will do his schoolwork extremely well and ace all his tests, but other than these things, he will sit around and play video games; strategy games to be exact. He will use his smarts to win any and all video games and gives Jamie a run for his money when they go up against each other.

His ability is that of being able to heal any person or animal when he touches them by using his own energy. He can also heal himself without any use of energy. He got his ability when he and his parents were in a car accident on the highway outside of San Francisco. Aaron was trapped in his seatbelt and was bleeding from a head wound while his parents were both trapped under the dashboard and bleeding from severe cuts on their heads and arms. Aaron managed to get free of his seatbelt and slowly made his way to his parents. He touched their heads with his hands and all of a sudden a white glow surrounded the three of them. Aaron instinctively closed his eyes and felt his wound heal and his energy drain out of him and into his parents, healing them both. He then went unconscious and awoke in a hospital, realizing that he was a mutant. His family accepted his mutation without question and urged him to come to Xavier's as he could help others with his gift.

He gains the energy needed to operate his abilities by not consuming massive amounts of food but by absorbing the good and bad emotions of those around him. By doing this he restores the energy he uses when activating his abilities and can thus use them almost constantly.

When Aaron uses his ability a white aura surrounds both himself and the person/animal he is healing, thus signaling that he is using his ability and to not bother him. If Aaron is interrupted when he is using his abilities, his concentration will vanish and the person he is trying to heal won't be healed; they will, in fact, hurt more then they originally were.

Aaron can heal up to three people at a time and only uses his powers when he wants to be the healer or when he is forced to be.

His uniform is the typical uniform except for a white stripe going from shoulder to shoulder and he doesn't wear any gloves except when out in cold weather because his abilities operate better when his hands touch the bare skin of his patient(s). When wearing gloves his abilities aren't as powerful but still work nonetheless.

When not in battle he is seen in black jeans, black sneakers, a white sweater, and a black bandanna. He is often seen with a game system and a strategy game of sorts.

Aaron merely stood in the background, ready to heal his teammates if they needed help.

Ross Kole, a.k.a. Blade, is 13 years old and was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. Ross, however, is fluent in both English and Japanese, and therefore has no accent. He has black hair with two silver streaks, one on the left side above his ear and one on the right side above his ear. He also has black eyes and is 5 feet 6 inches tall.

His personality is that of being serious about everything, including having fun, as he wasn't allowed to have much when he was growing up. He was trained in martial arts from the age of seven by his father, and taught to be a warrior with honor in some cases, and in some cases no honor at all. Since coming to the Institute he has been slowly learning- with his new friends' help- to become more like an average 13 year-old boy.

His ability is that he is able to turn one arm, or both arms, into two gleaming silver steel swords, or samurai swords. He can also create daggers with each of his fingers and can combine both of his arms (when both are swords) to create one giant sword. He got his powers when he was being bullied by some of his father's older students after a lesson. After the lesson he was pinned up against the wall by some of the older kids and was threatened with death if he didn't stop beating them in demonstrations. Ross refused and then found himself getting hit by the other students. He wrenched his arms out of their grip and raised them to try and defer some of the punches and suddenly heard screaming.

He opened his eyes, which he had closed a minute before, and saw the leader clutching his hand in pain and cursing in Japanese. Ross looked at his arms and saw that they were silver and realized with a start that they were samurai swords. He quickly slashed his way out of the situation, making sure to not seriously harm the bullies and then rushed home, his arms changing back to normal as soon as he left the school. When he got home he noticed that he had two silver streaks in his hair and no matter how hard he tried to get them out they stayed there.

His family, after finding out about their son's power, grounded him while they thought of what to do and finally accepted it, but very reluctantly. They soon agreed, after much debate among themselves, to finally send Ross to America to Xavier's to learn control over his powers.

His uniform has no sleeves or gloves, as they would just tear anyway when his powers activate. He will sometimes wear a uniform with sleeves, but only when it is extremely cold. He never wears gloves with his uniform. His uniform is dark blue, along with his boots, and his belt is light gray with a black "X" on it.

When not in battle he is seen in black jeans, a black tank top, and black sneakers. He is also sometimes seen meditating in the Institute's garden, slowly learn to control the metal that now courses through his arms and fingers and his powers themselves.

Ross began to advance towards the two adults, matching pace with Jamie and his clones.

The X-Sword team was standing next to their "teachers" the X-Factor team, as the two teams have a lot in common with each other, including the fact that they both started out at the Institute as young teenagers who dealt with the same problem every day, and the fact that they hate Jean and Scott.

"Now, now… let's not be too hasty…" sputtered Scott as he and his wife found themselves backed into a wall, every mutant ready to attack. Scott's uniform is dark blue with a yellow X on his back, and stripes on his arms in yellow. He also wears yellow gloves and boots. His visor is a small piece of black machinery with a knob on the side that lets Scott adjust the strength of the beams that he releases in battle. The beams are released from a single glowing rectangle, making it seem like Scott has one eye.

Jean's uniform is a mix of gold and light green, with the symbol of the phoenix in gold on her chest, black "X's" on both shoulders, and a gold sash at her waist that has a black "X" on it. She lets her hair hang down her back, or will sometimes contain it with a dark green headband or ponytail holder. She also has gold gloves and gold boots.

Rogue, having arrived onto the scene a few minutes earlier, was in the air and glaring down at Jean, her foster-brother Kurt, who was on the ground, was smirking evilly, his tail going back and forth. Kurt's uniform is black helps him to blend into the shadows with yellow triangles on the sleeves, a green X on the back, and a dark red vest covering the uniform. He also wears yellow gloves and dark red boots. The "X" on his belt is green and is surrounded by dark red.

Hank was just smiling innocently, but he cracked his knuckles as he did so. Hank's uniform consisted of short black stretchable pants with a yellow X on his belt, along with a black T-shirt.

Logan merely grunted, signaling he was ready to fight, while the others on the teams went into battle stance. Logan's uniform is tight fitting for greater movement and speed and is dark blue, almost black with holes in the yellow gloves he wears for his claws to eject from. His uniform has a yellow X on the belt, and one horizontal yellow stripe on the back, going from shoulder to shoulder and silver boots. He also has a yellow and silver "X" on his chest and is often found running training sessions. He also wears a black and yellow mask, but only in rare instances; his mask was not on at the moment.

"And why not?" asked Lexie confidently, smelling the fear radiating off the two adults as a familiar 'snikt' reverberated across the room, signaling her claws had come out.

"Because… because we're only trying to help you!" protested Scott as he pleaded with the mutants surrounding them. "You believe me, right bro.?" Scott cast a desperate glance at his brother Alex, who was standing behind the other mutants and a bit ahead of Aaron.

The mutants all looked at Alex, waiting for what he would say. They all grinned when they saw Alex smirk evilly, and his smile grew when he saw his brother's face blanche to an even paler shade then it had been before.

"Why would I believe you, bro.? Actually, I do, but consider this an exercise for you and Jean on gaining better control over your powers…" Alex said, smirking as he saw his sister-in-law's eyes light up in anger. Alex then watched in amusement as she shrank against the wall when she saw Ross slowly approaching, both of his arms now shining as they changed into two samurai swords, Rex's lion following the young mutant.

"Ready… attack!" yelled Logan as he too unsheathed his claws and ran towards Scott and Jean, who were watching the oncoming mutants with fear evident on their faces.


	17. Introduction of Ororo and the Short Beat

**Shout- Outs:**

**_todd fan: _**Thanx for the review and now enjoy the next chapter!

**_thriller-_** Welcome to the fic.! Yeah, all the X-Sword team and the two new Brotherhood members are my own creations. Glad u like them. Yeah, I do love Scott and Jean torture… enjoy! 

**_mdqce_**- Welcome to the fic.! I understand where u're comin' from and I know its tedious. Thanx for understandin'. This chap. is all action- that is, except for Storm's intro. Then there are no more intros for a while. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I won the contest! I won it! I… bang … Who am I? Oh wait, I'm X-23, right? Yeah! No, I'm not, am I? The only thing I know for sure is that I don't own anyone but the X-Sword team and the two new Brotherhood members. Now, who am I? Really.

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 16: Introduction of Ororo and the Short Beat-Down of Jean and Scott**

_**Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 17, 11:40 PM**_

Anyway, as the three mutant teams in the mansion- X-Men, X-Factor, and X-Sword ganged up on Jean and Scott, one of the strongest of the 2nd X-Men team was floating in the air next to Rogue. From one look an observer could feel the strength radiating off her, the air appearing to bend at every movement she made. This extraordinary woman was named Ororo Munroe and she looked ready to charge at Jean and send her flying.

Ororo's uniform is black with an ankle-length black and silver cape trailing behind her, wrist-height white gloves, and a black and red belt with a black "X" in the middle of it. Her knee-high boots are white with a few flecks of black on them. She also has black "X's" on both shoulders, surrounded by white, with a dark blue stripe running from shoulder to shoulder, under her cape.

"Lightning, I command you, follow my lead!" yelled Ororo as she commanded the lightning to follow her flight path. Out of nowhere a fierce-looking bolt of yellow and white lightning appeared around Ororo's upraised hands, and after she had gathered what she deemed the right dosage she dove at Scott and Jean. It looked like Ororo was going to ram into the couple but at the last moment pulled up, avoiding a blast from Scott and letting the lightning hit the two adults, causing them to scream in pain and a small, if not invisible smirk appeared on her dark coffee-colored skin, her sky-blue eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Professor, Jean and Scott are definitely losing this battle!" Forge commented from his observation position in the computer lab above the Danger Room itself. Here Forge and Xavier were watching the training session.

Forge was so absorbed in watching the action below him that he didn't notice Xavier start and leave the room until a few moments later when he saw Xavier enter the Danger Room. He watched as Xavier stopped the three teams from beating Scott and Jean up anymore and reprimanded Lexie, Rogue, Erica, and Tabitha for protesting. He ordered everyone to power down, commanding Amara, Rahne, Bobby, Roberto, Ross, and Rex to power down at once, and Aaron to heal the two leaders of the X-Men. While Aaron was doing so Xavier wheeled himself up to the front of the three groups and stared at the wall.

Forge was curious, as was everyone else, and was startled to hear a whirring sound approaching. Forge saw the veteran X-Men tense up, along with the X-Factor team members, while the X-Sword team just looked around in confusion. He then heard a crashing sound and looked over to the southern wall and was shocked to see it suddenly come bursting in, revealing Magneto, a dark blue raven, and about 8 metal pods enter the Danger Room and land. Forge watched in open-mouthed amazement as the pods opened to reveal the Brotherhood and Acolyte teams and the raven transformed into Mystique.

"Magnus," said Xavier as he rolled closer to Erik, and stared at him with a searching expression, his hands folded on his lap, "What are you doing here?" Xavier tried to read Erik's mind, but Erik shook his head and tapped his helmet.

"Charles, have you not figured it out yet that it is impossible to read my mind when I have my helmet on?" asked Erik, grim humor present in his voice.

"To answer your question, my dear friend," continued Erik as he stared into Xavier's eyes, "I am here to convince and prove to you that _Homo superior_ is the strongest race on this planet, and deserve to rule! I have finally come up with a plan to make you see the light, Charles. Now, attack!" yelled Magneto as he flung his arm forward, directing his troops into battle.


	18. The Danger Room Siege part 1: Erik vs

**Shout- Outs:**

**_todd fan: _**Guess what? This chapter is all about Forge! Enjoy!

**_thriller-_** Sorry for the slow update. Enjoy! 

**_MZace_**- Welcome to the fic.! I took ur advice and I've redone all the chapters so that no character descriptions except the ones that are mine are in the story. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Okay, I know that I'm not x-23, so that must mean I'm… Scarlet Witch? … I wish… all I know is that I don't own anyone but the X-Sword team and the two new Brotherhood members. Now, who am I? Really.

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 17: The Danger Room Siege- part 1: Erik vs. Forge **

_**Observation Platform above Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 17, 11:45 PM**_

As the battle raged, it was a blur to anyone trying to see what was taking place below, and Forge knew this as well as anyone. He knew this as he was trying to watch the action that was taking place below him from the computer room where all of the monitoring in a training session took place. Forge was typing furiously on the various keyboards in the room trying to regain a picture on the camera screen that let a trainer and/or observer to see the session going on below.

'Damn, I need to see what is going on down there if I'm to help them fight off Magneto,' he thought furiously as he typed and cursed when the static that had appeared when Erik had arrived remained on the screen.

Unfortunately, Forge didn't have his guard up so he was utterly surprised when he saw a piece of one of the laser guns used in Level 5 training sessions suddenly float up into the air and hover directly in front of him. What scared Forge about the metal was that it was glowing with orange energy, the energy he instantly knew belonged to Remy. Forge panicked and after looking around for a spilt second hit the ground and covered his head.

The explosion that occurred made everyone below look up at the monitoring room and saw it burst into pieces.

The X-Factor team looked up for a minute and felt themselves get hit when John and Wanda launched a double attack at them.

"What in the hell?" demanded Roberto but was hit by a hexbolt and forced to concentrate on the battle in front of him.

The X-Men looked up and then were all thrown back against the wall by a tackle from Fred and slime launched by Todd.

"Forge!" exclaimed Kurt as he 'bamfed' away from Todd's slime only to be tackled by Fred. "Ow…" muttered Kurt as he found himself falling unconscious.

"Tyne, what do we do?" asked Britt as she stood a bit behind the leader of the X-Sword Team, and watched wide-eyed as the battle consumed the other 2 teams.

"I don't know… I don't know…" muttered Tyne as she tried concentrating on turning into a giant hawk but failed because she was too nervous.

Devon was glancing around, and saw two decks of cards- glowing orange- heading their way. "Duck!" yelled Devon as he ran and pushed Erica down just in time but for the others it was too late. They were hit and knocked instantly unconscious.

"You okay?" asked Devon as he helped Erica to her feet, but was surprised when she swatted his hand off her and glared.

"I'm fine; leave me alone," Erica said slowly and vehemently. She was just about to walk away when she felt something hit her in the back of her head, and unable to react quickly enough, fell to the ground.

"Erica!" yelled Devon as he started towards the fallen teen but soon joined her when he was hit in the back of the head as well.

Pietro soon stopped beside the mutants, and, smirking, said, "Job well done, if I don't say so myself." He then created a whirlwind and carried all of the X-Sword team to one of two giant cages that Erik had constructed out of the metal present in the Danger Room.

Xavier, meanwhile, was struggling against Jason's illusions and didn't even hear the deafening explosion that had occurred moments before.

Back up in the monitoring room Forge heard all of the glass in the 5 huge windows and the monitors from the computers and cameras shatter and felt millions of glass shards cut into his arms. Forge silently sent a thank-you to his god that he had synthetic arms and not real ones, but he still felt the resounding pain emanating from them.

A few minutes later, Forge slowly opened his eyes and slowly rose to his feet, wincing at the pain coming from his arms, even though they were synthetic.

"Shit," he muttered as he examined the amount of glass embedded in his arms and thought to himself, 'Hmm… the glass doesn't look like it's in too deep… if I turn my arms into metal then maybe I'll be able to expel the glass and build some type of machine that will be able to help my side down there win…'

Forge closed his eyes and concentrated, and in a couple of moments his arms turned into two giant mechanical arms, complete with numerous buttons and controls. His right hand had tools at the end of it and the left hand was simply mechanical.

"Ahh, that's better," said Forge as he looked at his now mechanical arms, the glass now gone and the pain slowly receding, and thought 'Time to get to work.'

Just as he was about to grab pieces of scrap metal that were scattered about him as a result of the explosion he suddenly felt his arms become stiff. He yelled in pain as he stared at his now paralyzed arms and watched as they began to twist into weird designs and shapes, causing him immeasurable pain. He heard a laugh, and turned to face Erik, who, after having floated the giant piece of machinery charged with Remy's energy up to the monitoring room had levitated himself up when he felt Forge activate his mechanical arms. Forge gritted his teeth and tried to move his arms, but they wouldn't move an inch. Forge grew angrier as he heard Erik chuckle as he landed in the room and watched as he began to walk towards him.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Dr. Forge," mocked Erik as he looked at the famous doctor and inventor; well, once famous. "You should know better then to activate your powers when I am around, now shouldn't you?"

"Bastard!" gritted Forge as he struggled to free his arms, or at least retract the metal and return them to their synthetic states, but neither thing worked.

"Shame on you again, Forge; shame on you. What makes you think I'm going to let you go so you can build some machine to help Xavier?" Erik asked as he stared at Forge, and saw surprise cross the doctor's face.

"Oh, yes, didn't you know? I, like Xavier, can also read minds; however, it only works on those who are close to me, as you are," smirked Erik as he looked at Forge, an evil glint present in his eyes.

"What are you going to do with me, Magneto?" asked Forge resignedly as he stopped struggling, realizing it was futile to try and escape.

"You and the rest of Charles' students are going to come with me to my new sanctuary: Asteroid Evolution ((I know, unique, right?)). Once there, you will all be my prisoners. Now, follow me," said Erik as he turned around and floated out of the monitoring room. He suddenly stopped on remembering that Forge was unable to move and turned to face Forge once more.

"Oh, I forgot…" mused Erik as he looked at Forge, turned around once more and snapped his fingers. Forge felt himself lift off of the ground and begin to follow Erik down into the middle of the fray.

As they floated above the chaos, Forge could only watch in disbelief as the X-Men, one by one, team by team, fell to the combined forces of the Brotherhood and the Acolytes.

When Erik had reached the floor with Forge in tow, he yelled to Remy. "Gambit, destroy the observation station!"

Remy saluted Erik, charged up a couple cards, and threw it at the station. Forge was allowed to turn his head and watched as the card made contact with the station and it consequently blew up.


	19. The Danger Room Siege part 2: XFactor

**Disclaimer: **All right, I know I'm not Scarlet Witch, seeing as she hexed me a while ago… so maybe I'm… Magma? Yes! I am Magma! Fear me! Ha ha ha!

**_A/N: _**Since I can't respond to reviews anymore if u have a ques. contact me thru the personal message system on my profile. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 18: The Danger Room Siege- part 2: X-Factor Females vs. Wanda**

_**Southern Portion of the Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 12:00 AM**_

"Oh, man, I think we're out of our league here!" yelled Bobby as he shot streams of ice at the approaching threat- Wanda and John.

"You think, o fearless leader?" spat Lexie as she found herself, much to her dismay, being forced to retreat against the wall of the Danger Room with her teammates.

"Hey, Bobby!" yelled Tabitha as she threw a mixture of her two bomb types at the pair of attackers only to see them absorbed by a fire shield thrown up by John to protect himself and Wanda. "What's our next move here?"

"Um…" replied Bobby as he found himself backed up against the wall and his streams of ice starting to melt as soon as they left his hands.

"We need a plan now Drake!" snapped Rahne as she fought her wolf instinct to go and attach herself to her attacker's throats and hang on until they were dead. She was both surprised and happy to see that Roberto had once more powered up to his solar persona and stepped in front of her to make sure she didn't do anything rash and to also protect her.

"Rahne, you need to calm down," said Roberto as he turned quickly to flash a brief smile at her and Rahne found herself smiling in response and nodding in agreement. Roberto then turned to John and Wanda and prepared to attack them but was stopped when John threw up a gigantic firewall that surrounded the two mutants and kept X-Factor from attacking directly.

As Bobby continued to attack he spotted John and Wanda run in opposite directions, John to the left and Wanda to the right. Bobby suddenly cut his attack and signaled to his team to do so as well.

"All right, since we can't attack directly we'll divide and conquer. Now, spilt up!" yelled Bobby as he gestured which directions to go and who to go in said directions. He then began to run left while signaling Jubilee to go right. The remainder of the team glanced at each other and spilt up, the males following Bobby to fight John while the women, with Lexie muttering about how Bobby's plan was going to fail, followed Jubilee to attack Wanda.

A few minutes later found the female members of X-Factor surrounding Wanda, who had both of her hands glowing a dark blue and eyeing her opponents, looking for a chance to attack.

The females had Wanda surrounded on all seven sides, with Rahne and Lexie facing her, Jubilee and Tabby facing her from the back, Amara and Danielle on either side, and Lorna floating in the air above her.

"Now!" commanded Jubilee and she began to attack, sending dozens of streams of firecrackers at Wanda. Following her were Tabby creating a large blue-white bomb and hurling it at Wanda with all of her strength, and Amara once more turning into her fire state and shooting dozens of lava streams at Wanda.

This was the first wave of attack, and Wanda merely smiled and, closing her eyes, threw up a psychic barrier and repelled all three of the attacks back at a surprised Jubilee, who was unable to dodge in time and was hit dead on.

Jubilee screamed in pain as she felt her own attack hit her, combined with both Tabby and Amara's, and after the attack had ended, her teammates gasped in horror as they beheld their second in command. She was barely standing, her uniform in tatters except for material that clung from her neck down to her stomach and her pants which went down to her knees. Jubilee wobbled for a minute and then collapsed on the ground, sparks sizzling around her as she unintentionally let out a small stream of energy on her landing.

"That's it… no one hurts my teammates and gets away with it, even if they are my friends!" screamed Lexie as she snapped her eyes from the fallen form of her teammate to Wanda, who felt a small twinge of fear run through her. She then quickly felt it leave as she stared into Lexie's eyes, which were filled with anger and hatred.

"Now!" commanded Lexie, once more unsheathing her hand claws and running towards Wanda. The rest of the females began to attack as well, with Rahne changing into her werewolf form and leaping in front of Jubilee, who was now unconscious. Tabitha once more created a giant blue and white bomb and hurled it at Wanda, Amara shot more lava streams, and Dani closed her eyes and concentrated on bringing Wanda's worst fears to the surface. Lorna used her powers to take some metal plating from the wall and hurled it at Wanda, and Lexie ran towards her friend and prepared to slice her across the chest.

Just as Wanda was about to get hit she brought her arms above her head and closed her eyes. Her whole body began glowing with dark blue energy and Rahne watched, dread growing as each moment passed, and started when she heard Dani scream and sensed something had gone wrong. She looked over to her friend and saw Dani screaming as her powers began to backfire on her. Wanda did this by using her hexing abilities to cause Mirage's worst fears to come to the surface instead of Wanda's. Dani was now on her knees, clutching her head as she saw herself falling back into the earth like before, except she had no way of returning and was falling to her death.

"Dani, are you alright?" Amara asked anxiously as she quickly glanced at her fallen teammate, but soon was forced to return to the battle when she heard Rahne growl menacingly at Wanda. Amara started when she saw Wanda's aura glow a deeper blue, and then she concentrated more on harming Wanda.

Rahne then saw all of her friends' attacks get sent back at them, with Amara's lava streams hitting Tabitha and Tabitha's bomb hitting Lorna. Lorna then fell to the ground, and her powers changed from focusing on the metal plating to Lexie, who was now screaming in pain as she felt her whole body react to her teammate's control over metal. Rahne then saw Amara's lava streams being sent towards her, the reason being that Amara had unintentionally gotten in Lexie's way and because of Lorna's powers acting on her, Lexie had accidentally slashed Amara across the chest, causing her to fall to the ground in pain. This caused her lava streams to become redirected from Tabitha to Rahne.

Rahne thought quickly and turned, grabbed Jubilee, and leapt out of the way, just as the lava streams burned the spot where they had been a moment before. Wanda then turned to the only female left standing- Rahne. Rahne gently put Jubilee down against one of the sections of the Danger Room wall that was relatively unharmed, and turned, snarling, to face the Scarlet Witch.

She then began to circle Wanda, who was looking at her warily, and suddenly began to run around her in circles, trying to confuse her. Wanda simply closed her eyes and concentrated, and threw a hex-bolt at Rahne, who yelped in pain as she was hit. Rahne landed a few feet away, and then got up slowly, turning into her full wolf form as she did so. Then, snarling once more, she leapt at Wanda, who was caught off-guard, preparing to slash her throat and rip her jugular vein, but as she was about to land, she saw Roberto in her mind. She then remembered how she had silently promised him that she would not kill anyone ever again after an incident a few years ago with a wild animal. She then slowly shifted out of her full wolf form and into her werewolf form and prepared to tackle Wanda, but with that one instant of hesitation Wanda had gotten an attack ready and threw it at full strength at Rahne.

Rahne was hit directly and thrown up against the wall, landing a few feet from Jubilee, and whimpering in pain, unconsciously shifting from her werewolf form to her wolf form, and then to her human form. Her uniform was smoking from the force of the hex-bolt, and Rahne, before drifting into unconsciousness thought she saw Wanda stagger as something hit her and saw Roberto in his solar form floating above the fallen Wanda.


	20. The Danger Room Siege Part 3: A Failed

**Disclaimer: **All right, thanx to my burns I know I'm definitely not Magma… so how about Wolfsbane? Yeah, I've always loved wolves! Fear me!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 19: The Danger Room Siege- Part 3: A Failed Rescue Attempt and Capture**

_**Southern Portion of the Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 12:14 AM**_

"Stupid girl, what did she think she was doing?" muttered Wanda as she stared at the cuts on her hands she had gotten when she had been attacked by Jubilee's firecrackers, some of which had gotten through her barrier and cut her. She then tasted blood and lifted a hand to her left cheek, and felt blood that she realized had somehow come from Rahne, who although hadn't seemed to touch her, had still managed to cut her. When Rahne had been about to slash her in her wolf form, Wanda had thought she'd sensed something powerful emanating from the Scottish woman. As a result, Wanda had had to send a powerful attack at her, hurting her more than she had planned to.

Wanda then looked over the fallen females and as she focused on her downed friend, she knew that she no longer wanted to fight; knew that there was something else out there for her than that of following her father, trying to find just the right opportunity to get her revenge. She walked over and slowly knelt down and put a hand to Lexie's neck, making sure she was still alive, and then started on realizing that the mutant with green hair had used powers that were the same as her father's.

'But, how can that be?' thought Wanda in shock as she turned her attention to the fallen magnetism wielder, who was lying near Tabitha, and looked to be in rough condition. Wanda got to her feet and moved towards Lorna and just as she was about to kneel down to examine the emerald-haired warrior more closely felt something hit her hard in the back of her neck.

She staggered and almost fell to her knees from the force of the blow and the pain she felt, but somehow remained standing. She then felt herself get hit again, this time on the head, and fell to the ground, clutching her head as she felt pain flood her systems.

She was this way for a few moments, and then slowly got to her feet and looked around with hatred burning in her eyes. She saw Roberto quickly flying over to the downed Rahne, and she flung out her right arm in anger, closed her eyes, and concentrated on bringing him to her.

A few minutes later she felt her powers connect and opened her eyes to see Roberto, cursing in a mix of Portuguese, Spanish and English, staring daggers at her, and concentrating once more, made him shift out of his solar form.

She then approached him, and sensed the same kind of aura that had been surrounding Rahne earlier in the battle. She also felt that there was no fear emanating from him, and told herself that she would find it soon.

"Imbecile! What the hell did you think you were doing?" hissed Wanda venomously as she approached Roberto, who was still staring at her, hatred burning in his eyes as he recalled how he had felt Rahne's energy drop when he had been helping out some friends.

When he had turned to find her he had found her propped against the wall of the Danger Room, unconscious and her uniform singing and smoking. He had lost all control of his rage and rushed to her aid.

"What's it look like, witch!" yelled Roberto as he struggled to free himself from Wanda's power. "I'm saving my teammates and making sure I get my revenge on you for hurting them!"

"I only believe half your tale," hissed Wanda as she stepped closer and tightened her hold on Roberto. "Let's just see what your real objective was," finished Wanda as she closed her eyes and concentrated on delving into Roberto's mind, one of the many abilities she had picked up in her private training and meditation. What she saw was a flashback of the past few minutes, but in Roberto's point of view.

FLASHBACK

_**Western Portion of Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 12:05 AM **_

As Roberto ran, following Bobby as per his orders he saw Hank struggling with Piotr, as Piotr had donned his metal covering, and was now pushing Hank towards the wall at an alarming rate.

'That doesn't look good,' thought Roberto as he watched the battle between Hank and Piotr continue. 'I wish I had some sunlight to activate my ability, as I only have a small amount of stored solar energy left.'

Roberto made up his mind and instead of following Bobby and the rest of his team he ran towards the two battling mutants and rammed a fist into the back of Piotr's neck, wincing in the pain emanating from his now bruised hand. This distracted Piotr just enough for Hank to pick up the metal clad Russian using all of the strength he had left and then hurl him at the ceiling of the Danger Room.

Piotr closed his eyes just in time as he was sent flying through the ceiling of the Danger Room and up into the main foyer of the mansion. After a few minutes of trying to clear his head, Piotr got to his feet and jumped through the hole he had made and back into the midst of battle, catching Hank off guard and knocking him unconscious.

Roberto had, meanwhile, began moving once more towards the battle that was currently taking place between John and his teammates when he suddenly heard whimpering coming from the direction he had last seen Rahne and the other half of his team head in. He turned around and felt his heart wrench in pain as he saw Rahne, in her human form, unconscious against the wall and watched as her uniform singed and smoked.

Roberto, at that moment, felt himself lose his temper, and not caring if he had enough solar power left, willed himself to shift into his solar power form. A few moments later he felt the familiar power of the sun surround him, as the heat and solar energy covered him head to toe, his eyes becoming solid black with flecks of orange present, and felt his power surge to a level he never knew he had.

When his transformation was complete he took to the air and flew to the aid of not only Rahne but also the rest of the fallen X-Factor team. He put both of his hands together to form a fist and launched his attack on his target- Wanda. He hit Wanda in the back of her neck and watched her falter but not fall. He then launched another attack at her by hitting her in the head and watched her fall to the ground in pain. He then floated above her for a few minutes and then remembering Rahne he turned to her and started to fly towards her as quickly could.

Just as he was about to land and check Rahne's pulse, he felt himself being forcefully stopped in midair. He swore as he struggled to free himself, but when he looked down at himself he realized that Wanda had trapped him in her psychic energy and was moving him with her energy closer and closer to her.

As Roberto was a few feet away from her he felt his solar form being forcefully retracted into himself, and cursed himself for not keeping his guard up,

"Imbecile! What the hell did you think you were doing?" hissed Wanda venomously as she approached him, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"What's it look like, witch!" he yelled as he struggled to free himself from Wanda's power. "I'm saving my teammates and making sure I get my revenge on you for hurting them!"

"I only believe half your tale," hissed Wanda as she stepped closer and tightened her hold on Roberto. "Let's just see what your real objective is," finished Wanda as she closed her eyes and concentrated on delving into Roberto's mind.

Roberto felt the sensation of Wanda's trying to enter his mind, and was able to put mental defenses up for a few minutes in an attempt to keep her out of his mind.

However, the plan failed as he felt his defenses break apart and Wanda enter his mind and begin to sort through his mind, looking at all of his memories. She moved at a fast pace, through the memories of his childhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to when he got his powers to the break-off with his family and his first date with Rahne. Then he felt her enter his latest thought, and it was one that he had only began to accept as true; the realization that he loved Rahne and had since they had gone on their first date over two years ago.

Roberto felt Wanda begin to ferret out his flaws and weaknesses and she began to move through his mind faster and faster. The movement caused a tremendous headache to develop, and although Roberto tried to resist, he finally succumbed to its affects and fell into unconsciousness.

END FLASHBACK

As Wanda came out of Roberto's mind, she looked at him, and her eyes no longer contained anger and hatred, but sympathy and sadness. Wanda once more felt sadness at the fact that no one would ever want to be with her, not like Roberto, who would risk his life to save the one woman he loved. She knew deep inside that there might be one man who might risk it all to be with her, but also knew that he would never have the nerve to act on what he felt.

Wanda then used her powers to take the majority of the metal plating off of the walls and weld it into a gigantic metal cage. She then, telepathically and uncharacteristically gently, took each of the fallen X-Factor members whom she had knocked unconscious and put them into the cage. She was especially gentle with Jubilee, whom she knew to be a good friend of Kitty and Lexie, whom she treasured as friends and knew that, someday, she herself might quit the Brotherhood and join the X-Men… maybe sooner than she thought.

She then slowly moved the unconscious Roberto into the cage, and just so she would feel less guilty at having entered his mind like she had and for having invaded his private thoughts placed him beside the unconscious Rahne. She then conveyed a short message to her brother, telling him that she had captured about half of the X-Factor team.

'At least he's near her; not like I'll ever be near someone because of my being who I am, plus, who would want to be around someone like me; not counting Toad,' thought Wanda bitterly as she glanced once more at the couple. She then turned from the cage, and watched the remaining fights still taking place. She heard maniacal laughing coming from the western part of the Danger Room (she was in the southern part) and turned her attention there.


	21. The Danger Room Siege: Part 4: XFactor

**Disclaimer: **All right, thanx to the numerous bite marks I have on my body I know I'm not Wolfsbane… so how about Tabitha? Yeah, I love to play pranks like her!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 20: The Danger Room Siege: Part 4: X-Factor Men vs. St. John**

_**Western Portion of the Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 12:21 AM**_

While the women of X-Factor and Roberto had been battling against Wanda, the remainder of X-Factor, led by Bobby, had run after St. John and cornered him in the western part of the Danger Room. John had his goggles down over his eyes so X-Factor was unable to read his moves, which would normally be shown in his eyes.

The men, without Bobby's consent, had decided to throw Bobby's plan of surrounding John and strategically attacking him at intervals and in waves to hell and just concentrate on surrounding and taking John down without much strategy for attacking in mind. To be honest, none of the men had a real strategy; actually, no strategy at all, and Bobby weakly conceded that his plan was a bad one, after receiving glares from some of his teammates.

As they surrounded John, much in the same way their teammates had done with Wanda, John was smiling, knowing he was about to have some fun. However, he decided to let them make the first move; and make the first move they did.

Bobby nodded, and the others took this as the signal to attack. Bobby once more shifted into his ice form, his eyes turning from their normally soft brown to lime green and shot beams of ice out of both his hands, aiming them at John's jetpack in hopes to freeze it so John would be unable to activate it. Sam took to the air, and using the kinetic energy around him coming from all of the battles taking place began to prepare to cannonball himself at John, who was still standing in his original position. Jamie clapped his hands and about 10 clones appeared in an instant.

John just grinned at this stupidly, lulling Jamie into thinking that he couldn't find the real Multiple, but John knew exactly where the real one was. He would just wait. Ray clenched his hands into fists and electrical energy began to snap and crackle around them and Alex's hands began to glow a bright orange, signaling that he was about to unleash a one of his lower levels of attack.

Alex smirked as he powered up, and thought, 'Man, this guy is goin' to be in a world of pain when I'm done with him.'

John, on seeing Alex's smirk, knew that he was too overconfident in his own abilities and thought John was too stupid to really think of a strategy and form a real plan of attack; that John was a weak opponent. The men began to advance on John, who was still smiling, waiting for the perfect moment.

"Now!" yelled Bobby as he intensified the ice beams he'd been firing at John's jetpack and began to lower the temperature around John, hoping to slow down the fire-controlling mutant enough to take him out quickly and go help the women with the Scarlet Witch. At the same time Jamie, not to mention all of his clones, got the same identical smirk on their faces and ran towards John and began hitting him on the legs, hands, arms, face, and anywhere else, even aiming for below the belt.

However, John stopped those punches with his own arms, but let the other punches land where they would. Ray shot streaks of electricity at John's flame-throwers, hoping to short-circuit them and render them useless, and Sam fired himself for John's stomach, which Jamie and his clones had conveniently left uncovered for him. Alex shot bolt after bolt of orange energy out of his hands, and when he found that his beams were having no effect switched to his dark green ones. Alex made sure to aim for John's face and legs, hoping to make him collapse and thereby make him easier to capture.

The attacks combined, along with Sam's volley made John stumble back, but still his smile remained; he took the hits like he didn't care about the pain the men were causing him.

After a few moments, with all of the men increasing the intensity of their attacks, including Sam flying into him time and time again, John thought, 'Okay, Oy think now is when Oy get to have some fun!'

John then mentally activated his flame-throwers, thawing the ice that had been on them and fixing the circuitry that had been a bit damaged from Ray's attacks, not to mention heating up the temperature around the six men to a level that he knew Bobby would have trouble focusing in. Then, concentrating, he threw up an enormous firewall around himself, thereby finishing melting the ice that Bobby had put on his jetpack, and preventing the men of X-Factor from launching their attacks at him.

The men then fell back, and huddled together to think of what to do next, not noticing that the firewall had started to slowly dissipate and John was slowly advancing, flame-throwers raised in attack position. They then broke out of their huddle and were shocked to be staring into the flame-lit eyes of one of John's favorite fire creations: a fire horseman with a giant spear and sword pointed at them.

Jamie backed up slowly, clapping his hands once more and created about 20 more clones, bringing the clone count to 30. Alex's hands began to glow a dangerous dark green, signaling that he was about to unleash the utmost strength his powers allowed. Bobby began to panic and fired off ice beam after ice beam. Ray's hands crackled more and more, clearly showing his anger with John and his intention to defeat him, and the metal surrounding them began to crackle and hum, signaling that Ray was trying to conduct his electrical powers through the metal and electrocute John. Sam was still floating in the air, waiting for an opportunity to launch one of his stronger attacks at him.

After a few minutes with no attack getting past John's horseman, the men once more huddled together, with John chuckling at how easy it was to beat them.

"Now what do we do?" asked Ray in disgust as he looked at Bobby, the other men following suit.

"Um…" replied Bobby while he frantically searched his mind, hoping to find some kind of plan in a drawer marked "Plan for Emergency Situation against Pyro."

After a few minutes, with the only sound in the corner coming from a still chuckling John, and with Bobby not coming up with anything, Ray snapped.

"All right, since our leader has no plan, I vote to follow my plan, which is to keep attacking, and use every bit of strength you can!" yelled Ray as he shot a disgusted look at Bobby, clearing showing how much he hated to have Bobby in power. Ray figured that all that was really needed was a head-on attack, and was thinking that his plan would work because the five men would all just charge at John and take him down quickly with the most strength they could muster.

"Who's with me?" asked Ray as he clenched his hands into fists and electricity crackled around them, and the metal floor underneath them began to hum once more as electricity ran from Ray's body through his feet and into the ground below him.

After a few minutes of silence, the four men on the ground were surprised to hear Sam say from above them "Ah'm in Ray. Tell meh what to do."

Ray looked at Sam in surprise, not really expecting the usual easy-going and pacifist Southern to agree to go into battle, but then Ray thought of why and felt a flash of jealously surge through him. He knew that he and Tabitha had broken up only two months ago, but he still had feelings for her, and hated how Sam had started to take an interest in her and how Tabitha had responded.

Ray pushed aside his jealously for the moment and shot a small smile of thanks at Sam, who slowly nodded in recognition, and then Ray turned to the remaining men and asked them, "All right, anyone else in?"

"I'm in," replied Jamie, and one by one all thirty of the clones in the vicinity said they were in. Ray then turned to Alex, who thought for a moment, and then nodded and said, "I'm in dude. Let's roll."

Ray turned once more to his leader and asked, "Well, Iceman, you in?" Bobby thought for a moment, irritating Ray even more, and finally smiled and said, "Yeah, I'm in."

Ray breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Right. All right, attack now!" When Ray and the rest of X-Factor turned to attack John they were shocked to find themselves surrounded in a fire cage, complete with a roof so Sam wouldn't be able to fly the men out or go for help.

"Damn, now what?" asked Alex angrily as he shot dark green beams at the cage, hoping to create an exit for him and his teammates, but the beams were absorbed by the fire. John's laugh became a bit more maniacal and louder, and the men of X-Factor looked at each other and knew they had lost.

The men kept trying to get out, and as John controlled the flames, he got an idea, and an evil grin appeared on his face. He suddenly cut the amount of flames and let a hole form in the cage, but still kept his goofy grin on, lulling his opponents into thinking he hadn't noticed the flaw in his cage, but John was simply waiting to launch a trap.

"Now!" screamed Ray as he ran towards John, discharging the biggest amount of electricity that he was able to, shooting it out of his hands as quickly as he could summon it. Bobby and Alex followed, shooting ice and energy beams, respectively, at John, who just stood there and grinned foolishly. Jamie and his clones ran to John and began to hit him once more, and Sam prepared to launch an aerial attack at John.

'Come on, mates, jus' a little closer…' though John as he watched the advancing men, taking especial notice of Sam, who had gathered up almost enough strength to launch himself at John at full strength.

'Now,' thought John as the five men, with the exception of Jamie, who with his clones was still pounding him, were within mere feet of him. John's laugh rose in volume and pitch, causing the men to look at him with expressions that went from determination to confusion and then to realization of the trap they'd walked into in a matter of moments.

"Shit," muttered Ray as he began to back up as quickly as he could, while still firing at John, but knew his plan had failed and it was too late. John suddenly encased himself in fire for a brief moment, causing Jamie to have to retreat and all thirty of his clones to disappear. Jamie then fell to his knees, overwhelmed with the feeling of all of his clones returning to him at once. Sam flew down and picked him up and while Jamie recovered Sam landed on the ground next to Alex and Bobby, placing Jamie on his feet, and watched as Alex and Bobby tried to cover their retreat by still attacking John with everything they had left.

Just when they had almost gotten away John increased the flames' intensities once more and encased them in a box of fire from which there was no escape, and made it almost impossible to breathe inside.

John began to laugh more, but then thought he felt Wanda in pain and quickly looked around for her and found her carrying the females of X-Factor and Roberto to a cage, which he assumed she had fashioned. Breathing a small sigh of relief he turned his attention back to the fight at hand and made sure to stop laughing so he could keep his guard up.

Inside of the cage, Bobby was having trouble keeping his ice form, and a few minutes after the cage had enclosed the men, Bobby was unable to hold his form anymore and collapsed to the ground in pain, clutching his throat as he started to choke from lack of oxygen.

All of the X-Factor men began to choke from lack of oxygen along with the addition of their powers starting to fail them from the intensity of the heat. Ray's electrical powers began to sizzle and spark; causing him pain as the electricity kept coming out of his hands at random intervals and burning his skin. Jamie tried time and again to create clones to try and somehow form a human ladder through the fire and out but no clone would appear, and after a few moments, both Jamie and Bobby collapsed. Ray soon followed. Alex's hands were shooting out random beams of energy and burning any part of him they touched.

Finally, Alex, although used to heat from having lived in Hawaii for most of his life, gave in to it and fell to the ground unconscious. Sam was struggling to open a hole in the ceiling of the fire, but was failing, as with each passing moment the kinetic energy available to him was lessening, until finally Sam fell to the floor and went unconscious, thinking before he went, 'Tabby.'


	22. Danger Room Siege Part 5: Capture of X

**Disclaimer: **All right, see the numerous bruises and burns on me! This shows I'm not Tabitha… even if I like to play pranks…so, now I think I'm maybe… Dani! Yeah, I love dreams!

**_AN: _**Happy Holidays everyone!

"…"- conversation

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((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 21: Danger Room Siege- Part 5: Capture of X-Factor Men and another Hexing for Todd**

_**Western Portion of Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 12:34 AM**_

When John was sure that all five men were completely unconscious, he turned off his flames and jetpack and walked over to the men. He knelt beside each one and checked his pulse, making sure he hadn't killed any of them, and when he was completely sure that they were all still alive, stood up.

Then, one by one he slung them over his shoulders, and when he had all five men slowly walked over towards Wanda, being careful to go slowly so as not to jolt the men enough to make them wake up and attack.

A few minutes and rest stops later, he made it to the southern side of the Danger Room and looked to Wanda for permission to approach, not wanting to risk getting hexed. After Wanda had nodded consent, John made his way to the cage, and one by one dropped the men inside, making sure not to crush any of the females present in the cage.

As he came out, making sure to close the door behind him, he happened to notice Wanda rubbing the back of her head (where Roberto had hit her) with one hand. After a few moments she stopped rubbing her head and started to rub her face, specifically her left cheek, where John was surprised to see dried blood. John then looked at himself and was surprised to see his uniform was torn in some places and his jetpack sparking a bit. He felt his face and was surprised to find that he now had a huge gash from the bottom of his left eye to the end of his nose.

He slowly fingered the gash, noticing that the blood was starting to dry, and then turned his attention to Wanda, and noticed that she didn't seem to notice him there. He moved to stand beside her, and discreetly stared at her, all the while not laughing, and after a few minutes Wanda started and turned to John, causing him to look away as he started to blush a bit at being caught.

"John, are you okay?" asked Wanda slowly, hoping to not let on to John that she was worried about the large gash she had noticed on his face and also the fact that he hadn't been laughing in the least since he had brought over the remainder of X-Factor.

"No reason luv," said John a bit distractedly as he looked at the fighting still going on, while thinking of what to do next. After a few minutes he asked "Hey, sheila, you ok? Oy mean, wot with that gash an' all."

John watched Wanda out of the corner of his eye as she blushed a bit, and then felt himself being forced backwards into the door of the cage. He felt his head hit on the metal bars, nearly going unconscious but resisting it as he fell to his knees and clutched his head in pain. John stood up a bit dizzily as he felt the majority of the pain subside, but felt the resounding ache still present.

As he stood there rubbing the back of his head where he felt one hell of a bruise start to form, he saw Todd hopping in front of a red-faced and pissed-off Wanda. John watched with a bit of amusement as Todd tried to win her over, even by telling her that he took out Scott (which was the truth) and tried to get her to congratulate him, as everyone in the Brotherhood hated Scott but liked his brother Alex.

Todd hoped that by taking down Scott he would impress Wanda and make her see him for what he was on the inside and would finally acknowledge his combat skills, which would be a step towards a relationship between them. Todd had seen Wanda's little blush as she talked with John and, getting jealous, had used his tongue, with the majority of his strength behind it, to send John into the door of the cage. He then hoped over from the other cages where the X-Men and X-Sword teams were being held and had tried to win Wanda back from the "firebug" that he felt to be a threat to his future with Wanda.

"Aww, c'mon snugglebunny, you can tell me what's wrong, yo. I'll kiss it an' make it all better," said Todd as he once more tried his puppy eyes, knowing for a fact that Erik was too distracted with Forge and the supervision of the battle between Jason and Xavier to notice him. What he didn't remember was that Wanda was oblivious to his puppy eyes and failed to notice Wanda's hands begin to glow dark blue, her eyes begin to crackle with psychic energy, and that she was getting ready to hex him out of existence. John did, however, and moved back a few steps to make sure he didn't get hit with any side effects that might result from Wanda's powers.

"Toad, for the last time!" screamed Wanda angrily as she stared daggers into Todd's eyes as she pointed her now glowing blue hands at him. "I do not like you at all, you filthy disgusting creature!" Wanda then used her powers to fling Todd away from her and into the bottom of the destroyed computer lab and watched him fall to the ground with a satisfied smirk.

She then turned to John, who was still rubbing his head in an attempt to get rid of his headache as he walked back up to stand beside Wanda once more.

"John, I'm ok. Thanks for asking," replied Wanda as John stood beside her and flashed him a small smile. John thought how for once he was glad he wasn't doing anything stupid because at least Wanda had acknowledged him, plus he had actually gotten her to smile, which, he thought, was rare for her. He could also feel his heart beat against his ribs, and he realized that he did love Wanda, because although they hadn't been out on a date at all, he knew, somehow, that they were made for each other.

John sheepishly returned the smile, and Wanda could feel her heartbeat speed up, and she blushed a bit more, but just then Pietro came speeding up with an unconscious Jean Grey-Summers in his arms. He flashed Wanda and John an evil smirk, which they returned, and they soon had not just dumped Jean on the ground and buried her under the rest of the X-Men, but had also chained her down to the bottom of the cage with shackles made by Wanda and John. These would prevent her from escaping, even if she woke up, unless Erik himself released her.

With a quick salute to the two mutants, which only John returned a bit too eagerly, and Wanda just glaring at her brother, Pietro sped off to round up more fallen mutants. John then caught Wanda's eye and grinned at her, telling her silently that her brother was an ass, and somehow Wanda understood. She smiled at him in agreement, and then they turned their eyes to the battle taking place where French swearing was heard coming from the northern part of the Danger Room.


	23. Danger Room Siege Part 6 Remy vs Rogu

**Disclaimer: **All right, I have not gotten any sleep because of the recurring nightmares so I'm not Mirage… hmm, how about Lorna? Yeah, I know I can control metal!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 22: Danger Room Siege- Part 6- Remy vs. Rogue**

_**Northern Portion of the Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 12:43 AM**_

Meanwhile, in the northern part of the Danger Room, Rogue was fighting Remy one-on-one, having come a few minutes ago to take over for Logan, who was now unconscious thanks to a combination of Remy and Pietro's attacks. She had swooped in and tried to grab Logan as he was about to be taken away by Pietro but had been distracted by one of Remy's cards, which had hit her in the right shoulder.

Rogue had then forgotten about Logan for the moment and had concentrated on beating Remy. However, at the moment she was having a real difficult time, because although she was in the air, Remy had used his empathic abilities to make her let her guard down, and although she was mentally fighting him, she was losing the battle.

"Remy, why in tha hell are yah doin' this ta meh?" asked Rogue as she desperately fought to get herself out the empathic trance he had put her in so she could get in an attack, but nothing seemed to work.

She was so focused on trying to get out of the trance that she didn't notice five cards charged with kinetic energy heading towards her until it was too late and she was unable to dodge. Rogue screamed in pain as she felt the cards somehow get past her invulnerable skin and burn her, and the pain broke her trance. Rogue's eyes focused on the now worried Cajun, who was trying to smile apologetically as his eyes showed worry for her, but Rogue didn't fall for it.

"Gambit, yah are goin' ta pay for that!" yelled Rogue as she began to fly in to tackle him, but Remy jumped to the side and Rogue flew right into the wall, rubble raining down on top of her and burying her.

After a few minutes Rogue dug herself out of the rubble and ran towards Remy, ready to throw a punch to his jaw, but to her surprise he stopped her fist with his hand. No matter how much Rogue tried, she could not budge Remy's hand, and Remy just held Rogue's fist in place, not minding the pain he was feeling as his bones began to crack under the pressure from the amount of strength Rouge was exerting.

Remy stared into Rogue's emerald eyes and felt himself begin to feel a bit confused, as if his own emphatic abilities were being used against him.

After a few minutes his eyes glazed over and his grip on Rogue's fist loosened and Rogue took this as the signal to punch Remy in the jaw; which she did quite hard. Remy was sent flying into the rubble from when Rogue had crashed into the wall, and a few minutes later he climbed out, a large gash present on his forehead and blood dripping from it.

"Merde (Shit)," muttered Remy as he felt the blood dripping down his face, and then he reached inside his coat pocket and brought out a black and red bandanna, which he tied around the cut to stop the bleeding. He then turned to face Rogue and said, "Chère, tha' was not very nice, non?"

Rogue snorted and replied, "Since when have Ah eveh been nice ta yah, Swamp Rat?" Rogue then charged once more toward Remy and prepared to deliver a finishing punch to his jaw, but was hit in the arms and legs by a few well-aimed cards. Rogue cried out as she felt pain surge through her and fell to the ground, wondering once more how Remy had gotten past her invulnerable skin.

"Désolé, chère," (Sorry, my dear.) said Remy as he powered up another of his cards and moved closer to Rogue, his red-on-black eyes never leaving her pain-filled face as it stared up at him, anger and hatred burning in eyes that never showed her pain.

"C'est (It is) de only way Remy knows how to fight y' so tu (you) aren' injured." Remy then threw another card at Rogue, but this time she caught it and threw it back at him, catching him off guard as he jumped out of the way of the explosion.

"A little too late for that, don' yah think?" asked Rogue grimly, wincing in pain as she got to her feet. After a moment of wobbling she shook her head to clear it and charged once more at Remy, making sure this time to dodge all of his cards.

Just when she was about to land a solid blow to the chest she felt something hit her in the stomach and she fell to the ground once more, clutching her stomach in pain as she tried to catch her breath.

Remy then retracted his Bo pole and knelt beside her, making sure to keep his hands covered, and gently stroked her face. At the moment they touched a shock ran through both of them causing them both to start and stare at each other with confusion visible to anyone who would have taken the time to look, and each felt like time had frozen.

Then, as if time had suddenly unfrozen, Rogue felt her strength return and with a speed that matched Pietro's she landed a punch to the jaw and got to her feet once more. When Remy took out his Bo pole again she grabbed one side while he grabbed the other, and they began to struggle for control over it.

Rogue took a glance at the other X-Men and saw everyone unconscious except for herself and Xavier. Each team was in one of three metal cages being guarded by Wanda, John, and Todd. She noticed the remainder of the Brotherhood and Acolytes watching the battle between Jason and Xavier.

'Mah gawd,' thought Rogue as she focused on trying to take the pole away from the Cajun, along with blocking any punches of Remy's that he managed to throw at her and reflected them back at him.

'Everyone's been knocked out 'cept for me et (and) tha Professor. Even "Miss Perfect Jean" has been knocked out. Ah wonder what's goin' to happen to us if we all lose…' thought Rogue as she began to throw a few punches as well and they, unlike Remy's, made contact.

Rogue then managed to land another solid punch to Remy's jaw, and then one to his stomach. Remy staggered back and wiped the blood from his mouth and on seeing that Rogue had his pole took out a few cards and began to charge them up, ignoring the pain still present in his hand from blocking Rogue's punch earlier. Remy threw them but watched in a mix of surprise and amusement as she dodged them all and also caught one and blew it out with her breath.

'Merde, she is one hell of a woman,' thought Remy as he watched this, and then started as he realized that Rogue was once more charging towards him. He dodged all of her punches, but when one hit him in the stomach he fell to his knees in pain. He knew defeat was near, and bowed his head in defeat, waiting for the final blow, but it never came.

Remy opened his eyes and looked up to find Rogue with her mouth wide open just standing there, and he realized something had happened. Rogue then fell, but didn't hit the ground as Remy caught her, and with his gloved hand wiped away a loose white bang that had fallen across her face, tucking it behind her ear.

As Rogue lost consciousness, she could feel someone touching her face softly and opened her eyes long enough to see red-on-black eyes staring worriedly at her, but then fell unconscious. Remy looked up to see who had taken out Rogue and saw Fred there with his fist raised.

"You all right, LeBeau?" asked Fred in concern as he saw the blood seeping out from under Remy's bandanna.

"Oui, Remy be fine, but is everyone else unconscious aussi (also)?" replied Remy as he got to his feet, Rogue cradled in his arms and away from any part of his torn uniform that could possibly touch her skin.

"Follow me," instructed Fred as he walked over to a small, empty fourth cage that Fred and Piotr had quickly put together, and told Remy to put Rogue in the cage, which he did, and they turned to see Xavier lose to a combination of attacks by Jason and Erik.


	24. Danger Room Siege Part 7 Conclusion an

**Disclaimer:** See all these scrapes and bleeding wounds? I can't control metal because if I did then I would've been able to stop all the metal stakes with sharp edges coming towards me! Hmm… maybe I'm… Iceman? Yeah, I can so do anything I want with ice!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 23: Danger Room Siege- Part 7- Conclusion and Departure**

_**Southern Portion of the Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 12:59 AM**_

Everyone soon saw Xavier give and slump out of his wheelchair onto the floor, and watched as Erik and Jason smirked. While Jason closed his eyes to make sure that he hadn't caused any permanent mind damage to Xavier (per Erik's orders), Erik floated and landed in front of Xavier.

Erik still had Forge, now unconscious, floating behind him. He then used his own psychic abilities to put Xavier back into his wheelchair, lifted the metal wheelchair up, and carried him to the cage with the rest of the unconscious X-Men team. He opened the door, threw Forge in, watched as the inventor hit the back of the cage, and saw a big blue and red bruise began to form on the back of his head. Erik then gently put Xavier in, making sure to put a mental control device on him so that if Xavier woke up he would be unable to use his powers, and closed the door. He then took a mental count to make sure that he had every student he could think of in the cages. No one failed to notice that Kitty was nowhere to be found.

After a moment Erik motioned to both the Brotherhood and Acolytes to gather around him, and then said, "Well done, my mutants. Now, get into your pods and we will return to Asteroid Evolution to start part two of my plan to rule the world. But first…" said Erik as he looked at each of his soldiers in turn, and then turned to the eastern wall, which was located at the back of the Danger Room. Erik narrowed his eyes and, holding out his right hand, used his powers, opened it, and saw Cerebro at the end of a platform.

"Just as I remember it…" murmured Erik as he stared at the machine that he and Xavier had built together so long ago. He then walked over to the machine, and stopping in front of it, used his powers to search for the schematics, telling how the machine was made. He hoped that they were where he had hidden them before leaving the mansion all those years ago.

Cerebro is a machine built by Xavier and Erik and improved by Xavier over the years. It consists of a large console, with the keyboard on top of it. The hard drive is connected directly underneath the console and keyboard. There is no monitor, as the circular room in which Cerebro is stored acts as a monitor that has been expanded to encompass the whole room.

There is one helmet on the keyboard, that when put on by either Xavier or Jean allows Cerebro to be operated. The machine itself is mounted on a section of walkway that extends from the door to the machine, which is about halfway out into the room. The walkway is wide enough for Xavier's wheelchair and for one person to walk beside him. The wall is made of panels of metal that react to Cerebro's hum and either Xavier or Jean view all of the mutants and humans on Earth, the mutants represented by red flashes of light and the humans by white flashes of light.

After a few minutes, Erik smiled as he found a hidden metal drawer, located under the keyboard of Cerebro. He punched in the code (Revenge), and with a click the drawer opened to reveal five dark blue scrolls tied up with silver string. Erik smiled, grabbed them, and then strode back to the near destroyed Danger Room and his teams.

He spoke to them, saying, "Now, we must leave. Gambit, I want you to travel with Rogue, so in case she wakes up, she can be knocked out again; understood?" Erik looked at Remy, who nodded, and began to walk towards Rogue's cage. He suddenly stopped, turned around and went to Erik. Remy and Erik talked quietly, with the others looking at them curiously, and after a few minutes, at Erik's nod, Remy went back into the smaller cage and knelt by the unconscious Rogue.

When he thought no one was looking, he brushed a glove-covered hand across Rogue's face, as if in a caress, and didn't notice Wanda watching him, sadness present in her eyes. She didn't notice both John and Todd staring at her, John's eyes filled with understanding at her pain; Todd's filled with the desire to be her man and her man only, with John out of the picture. The rest of the mutants were busy finding the pods amid the rubble of the Danger Room and assigning a guard for the other three cages to make sure the other mutants didn't wake up.

After a few minutes, with Piotr in the X-Men's cage, Jason in X-Factor's cage, Raven in X-Sword's cage, Remy in Rogue's cage, and the remainder of the mutants in the pods, Erik rose into the air. He had the schematics for Cerebro clutched in one hand and the other facing the assembly of metal cages and pods. With an upward motion of his arm, Erik used his powers to lift the metal containment devices into the air.

Erik guided himself and the containment devices through the opening made by Hank and Piotr's battle earlier. When Erik and company reached the foyer Erik took the liberty of making another hole in the ceiling and floating his "ensemble" behind him.

The Brotherhood and Acolytes left behind nothing but destruction, broken machinery, and, unbeknownst to them, Lance and Kitty.


	25. Finding the Battle Scene

**Disclaimer: **I'm recovering from a severe case of pneumonia thanks to Iceman… I'll get him back… so may be I can't control ice… I bet I can control… electricity like Berzerker! Yeah, that'll be fun!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 24: Finding the Battle Scene**

_**Underground Hallways, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 1:00 AM**_

Kitty and Lance, still searching for the Danger Room, came to another dead hallway.

"Kitty," said Lance as he tried to catch his breath from the amount of running he had been doing for the past hour. "We've checked every inch of this place, and still no Danger Room. Now what?"

"We've checked every place but one," mused Kitty as she caught her breath, stood up, and thought for a minute. She then smiled and turned to Lance, saying "Lance, aim your x-ray vision straight ahead."

"If you say so," muttered Lance, still unconvinced that it actually worked, as he focused and the bright yellow light, signaling the use of x-ray vision, appeared. He focused it straight ahead, and after a moment, grinned and blinked once, thereby turning it off.

"Well…" prompted Kitty impatiently. "Did you find it?"

"Yep," said Lance, broad grin still on his face. "I saw the door that leads to the inside of the Danger Room. It's right beyond this wall. If you would, Kitty…"

Kitty nodded, took Lance's hand in hers, ran the few feet between them and the wall and phased through. They arrived in front of the door, just as Lance had said, and approached the door carefully; both afraid of being jumped if anyone spotted them in their new forms.

"Password, please," said a computerized voice as Kitty and Lance stopped in front of the door.

"Peaceful World," said Kitty to the door, and after a minute the voice ((or should I say the door)) responded, "Voiceprint Identification confirmed. Welcome Shadowcat."

With this, the door opened, and as Kitty and Lance entered, Kitty gasped in shock and Lance blanched. The Danger Room was literally in pieces, with the computer lab overlooking the training area in pieces; the once-working lasers and droids used for Danger Room sessions were destroyed and holes were in the walls where people had been thrown. There were also 3 very large gaping holes; one in the ceiling, one in the wall that led to the machine Cerebro, and one leading to the outside.

"Oh my god, like, what happened here?" asked Kitty with fear in her voice as she stared at what once was the Danger Room.

"I think I know," said Lance calmly as he walked towards the hole that led to the outside, and fingered the edges of the hole. A few minutes later, he unfolded his wings and took to the air. He almost dove straight back down to the floor, not used to having wings. After a few minutes, he got the hang of them and flew up to what remained of the computer lab.

After landing inside, he began to search through the rubble left behind. He noted the settings on the once functional computer mainframe and the now-destroyed equipment that was scattered around the room. He saw a faint orange-red glow out of the corner of his eye, and on kneeling to look at it more closely frowned, picked up the object, and flew back down to where Kitty was waiting on the floor.

"Well?" asked Kitty as she looked at Lance.

"Magneto attacked, and took everyone who was here, which I'm assuming was the whole institute, hostage and took them to his new base: Asteroid Evolution," replied Lance as he looked Kitty in the eye, and watched for her reaction.

Kitty gasped, put a hand over her mouth in shock, removed it quickly, and asked, "Lance, are you like sure? I mean, you don't, like, think it was like one of Forge's inventions gone wrong, right? I mean, it wasn't, like really Magneto, because Wanda is like my friend, and Rogue's, and Lexie's, too, and I don't think that she would attack the Institute with her dad because they like, hate each other. Plus, Wanda told me a few days ago that she was seriously, like, thinking of quitting the Brotherhood and joining the X-Men. Was it really Magneto?" asked Kitty as she stopped rambling and looked at Lance questionably.

She saw him lower his head a bit, as if in shame, and then he looked up at her and slowly showed her a card that was still glowing a faint red-orange and was slightly smoking. He heard Kitty gasp as she reached out to take it and examine it.

"But this is…" whispered Kitty as she looked from the card to Lance.

"Yeah, it is," finished Lance as he looked at the card. "It's the King of Hearts, Gambit's favorite card."


	26. Using Cerebro

**A/N: **Hey I'm so sorry about the late update! I have a really hard workload this semester so updates will be late but I know they'll get through! Eventually, that is…

**Disclaimer: **Okay… while I recover from a severe electrocution- OUCH!- Let me remind you that I don't own X-Men… I think I'll try to be someone next time… -OUCH!- Oh and I also don't own any of the teams mentioned in this chapter… -OUCH!-

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 25: Using Cerebro**

**_Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 1:10 AM_**

"Now what?" asked Kitty as she gave the card back to Lance and watched him pocket it.

"Well…" said Lance as he crossed his arms over his chest and screwed his face into a thinking expression, and saw Kitty do the same. After a minute, Lance snapped his fingers, startling Kitty, and ran towards the eastern part of the Danger Room and Cerebro.

"Lance, what are you doing?" asked Kitty as she ran after Lance and arrived in the room to see Lance typing something into the computer, which amazingly was still operating. She watched as he first pulled up all of the profiles on the mutants in Bayville, noting how Lance had become skilled with computers over the years.

He also pulled up ones on enemies that were defeated, like Apocalypse, those of other people they had encountered, including the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Captain Britain Corps., the Teen Titans, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, and so on. He typed for a few minutes until he stopped and stared at what he had found. Kitty looked at the screen and was astonished to see that Lance had pulled up the profile of Apocalypse with copies of all the hieroglyphs found under the Sphinx, followed by the profiles of all of the X-Men, X-Factor, X-Sword, Brotherhood, Acolytes', and Morlocks' profiles.

"Lance, what are you doing, and why did you pull up those certain profiles?" asked Kitty curiously as she watched Lance stop typing, and then walk over to the helmet that Xavier normally used to operate Cerebro.

"Well, I just thought of something. Since we both have telepathic powers similar to Xavier's, then maybe we can use them to operate Cerebro, and the rest will be explained," replied Lance as he placed the helmet on his head and then typed something on the keyboard. He then stood back and Kitty watched as the room grew dark and an image of the Earth came into view, with a multitude of red and white lights blinking on every continent. She then glanced away from the picture and noticed a second helmet on the keyboard.

"Lance," she said and Lance turned from the picture and looked at her, "why is there a second helmet on the keyboard? I mean, I think the Professor has only, like, one."

"The reason's that I created it by hacking into Cerebro and making it believe that two helmets are required in order for it to operate to its full potential. Cerebro then took on the duty of creating a second helmet in response to my request," replied Lance as he looked at her and then turned back to the picture. "Put it on. I'm having trouble locating Magneto and everyone else with only my psychic powers. I need yours as well."

"Okay," said Kitty as she slowly walked next to Lance and put on the helmet. She instantly felt a change in the level of the machine, and watched in amazement as the picture of the Earth extended to include not only the Earth's surface, but also spread out to the planet Pluto, and beyond. Her eyes followed all of the lights from the Earth and into the blank nothingness of space. She stared at the number of lights flashing from the two planets furthest from Earth: Neptune and Pluto.

"Lance, look," whispered Kitty in amazement as she turned her head from the picture to look at Lance. "There are mutants living on Neptune and Pluto. There's life on other planets! Lance?"

Kitty looked at Lance who was staring at the moon, and hadn't given the slightest notion that he'd heard her. Kitty turned her attention to the moon, and gasped. There was a group of red and white lights- altogether about fifty of them- in one place: an asteroid circling the moon.

"Lance, is that…" asked Kitty as she continued to stare at the lights,

"Yeah, it's them," replied Lance as he turned his gaze away from the picture and back down to Earth, where they landed on two lights that were neither white nor red; they were dark blue.


	27. Evolved Mutants, Instructions, and Resur

**Disclaimer: **Okay… I believe that Berzerker gave me a well-deserved electrocution for my attempts to be exactly like him but I believe I'm still feeling small shocks… -OUCH!- Like that. Therefore I believe I have learned my lesson that I don't own the X-Men… at least for now… OUCH!-

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 26: Evolved Mutants, Instructions, and Resurfaced Fears**

_** Cerebro, Eastern Portion of the Danger Room, Xavier Institute, Bayville, NY- May 15, 1:25 AM**_

"What's that?" asked Lance as he looked at the lights, and the question caught Kitty's attention and as she turned to look at what had caught Lance's attention, she heard a voice say, "Alert, Alert! Two Evolved Mutants Have Been Detected in the town of Bayville, New York. Mutants Identified as Lance Alvers and Katherine Pryde. Powers are thus…"

As the machine rambled on about Lance and Kitty's full arsenal of new powers, both of whom already knew them, Lance and Kitty stared at the lights, one for each of them, and were shocked to realize that they were indeed evolved mutants. As the computer finished telling them about the evolved mutants, it finished by saying, "What is your next request?"

"Well…" began Lance as he quickly thought of what to do next, when Kitty interrupted him and said "Cerebro, please print out a map from the Xavier Institute for the Gifted to Asteroid Evolution, including the distance and shortest way there."

As Lance and Kitty watched, Cerebro began to hum even louder than it had been previously, and they then saw a piece of paper come out of the machine. The machine then asked, "Is that all that is required?"

"No, I need you to print out all of the information and profiles I pulled up earlier please, and as quickly as possible," replied Lance as he took the paper out of the computer, looked at it, and saw a very complicated map. After a minute, he handed it to Kitty.

"Here, you take it," Lance said, "I think you'll be able to make more sense of it than me."

As Kitty took the map off Lance, they heard Cerebro say, "Task completed. Do you need anything else?"

"No, we're fine. Cerebro, begin shut down process," said Kitty as she took all of the printouts of the information Lance had brought up earlier, and motioned Lance to wait. A few minutes, they heard "Shutdown complete," come from Cerebro, and Kitty motioned to Lance to remove his helmet as she did.

As they walked out of Cerebro, Kitty exclaimed "Man, that was so, like, awesome! I mean, I feel completely fine! When Xavier and especially Jean use Cerebro, they say that it drains them of a lot of their energy, but I feel fine, like nothing happened. What about you, Lance?"

"I'm fine," replied Lance as he looked around once more at the destroyed Danger Room. "Kitty, take a look at that map and tell me how far it is to Asteroid Evolution and the shortest way to get there, will you?"

"Yeah, give me a minute," said Kitty as she stopped walking and took out the map, with Lance looking over her shoulder to look at the complicated map, and after studying it, said, "Alright, here's the plan. We need to take a plane of some kind to get to Asteroid Evolution quickly. From Earth to the moon it's about 240,000 miles or so. " ((go w/ me, ok, b/c I have no clue how far it is from Bayville to the moon, but this is my estimate)).

Kitty looked back at Lance and continued, "We're going to have to take the _Blackbird_," as she looked ahead and folded the map. She then started to walk foreword again, but stopped when she didn't hear Lance's footsteps behind her.

"Lance? Like, what's wrong?" asked Kitty as she turned to find Lance had stopped dead in his tracks, and a look appeared on his face that scared Kitty a bit. "Lance, are you, like, okay?" asked Kitty as she walked back to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Did you say we have to take the _Blackbird_?" asked Lance in a soft, high-pitched voice that sounded more like a mouse's squeak.

"Yeah, why?" asked Kitty curiously, and then she realized what was wrong. "Oh Lance, do you still get, like, airsick?" she softly asked.

"Yeah, and that's why I hate flying," replied Lance as he shook his head to rid himself of the memory of the incident that occurred the last time he had been in the _Blackbird_ without a good pilot in control.

FLASHBACK

This had been when he had tried to join the X-Men about 9 ½ years earlier, and he and Kitty had to save Bobby, Jubilee, and Sam when they had taken the _Blackbird_, the fastest plane in existence, out by themselves.

Jubilee had accidentally fried the controls with her powers and Lance and Kitty had phased into the plane. The small group then had gotten themselves targeted by the military. Kitty had used her powers to phase the whole plane through a mountain. After the plane had been set on course for the Institute, Lance had gotten airsick and had thrown up on one of the seats.

When they had gotten back to the Institute Lance had hastily cleaned up his mess before confronting Logan, Scott and Xavier. After he took the blame for the 3 teenagers, with the 3 of them then confessing to prevent Lance from getting punished, Lance had left, leaving behind a sad and confused Kitty, not to mention the fact that he was confused as well.

END FLASHBACK

'Yeah, well, get over it, bud,' thought Lance to himself, 'you need to be able to fly in a plane without getting sick so that you'll be able to help everyone out and redeem yourself.'

"Yeah, I'm still afraid of flying, but I'll be fine, don't worry," said Lance as he flashed Kitty a reassuring smile, and moved foreword a few steps, then stopped and turned around. "Uh, Kitty?" asked Lance.

"Yeah?" asked Kitty in reply, as she looked at him a bit strangely.

"Where exactly is the _Blackbird?_" asked Lance a bit sheepishly, and on hearing Kitty give an exasperated sigh, berated himself for not asking sooner.

"Follow me," replied Kitty as she walked past Lance and towards a door at the far end of the Danger Room, which had somehow remained untouched.


	28. New Uniforms and the Blackbird

**A/N: **Umm… while I dodge all the veggies thrown at me I have to say that I am so, so, so sorry that this update is so late. The reasons are that I had musical to get through and that was a real pain in the ass; add on to that exhaustion to the millionth degree and a lot of homework and you have a late update… again I apologize so now enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I'm not even going to attempt to gain control over X-Men this time; I'm way too exhausted… so leave me alone you stupid lawyers!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 27: New Uniforms and the _Blackbird_**

**_Uniform Storage Area, Danger Room Annex, Bayville, NY- May 15, 1:35 AM_**

Kitty and Lance went through the door, which opened to allow them access, and Lance recognized it as the area where the X-Men would suit up for battles and training sessions.

As he looked around, he saw that every mutant that lived at the Institute had their own area where their uniform and sports equipment were kept. He also noticed that all the uniforms except Kitty's and some extra new recruit's uniforms were missing.

"Okay, now what?" asked Lance as he watched Kitty head towards her uniform and on taking it started to walk towards a changing stall.

"Well, you could either take one of the extra uniforms or just run back to the Boarding House and grab your uniform. It's up to you," replied Kitty from the stall where she was changing.

"Okay, I'll be right back," said Lance as he sped out of the room in a flash of brown and black and returned a minute later with a duffel bag that had his uniform in it.

"Man, now I know why Pietro likes his power so much; I could get used to this," said Lance as he grinned at how quickly the task had been accomplished.

As Lance took out his uniform Kitty came out from changing in her uniform. It was basically the same as the original except that she had altered it so that her wings were able to protrude from her back and her tail was able to as well. She had also gotten rid of the boots, as they no longer fit her; she and Lance now had gargoyle feet, which were raised up so they only walked on the front of them, 4 talons now replacing the toes on each foot. She took a look at Lance's uniform, which at the moment had tears in it from the last battle and was still covered in blood stains from wounds that had since healed.

"Lance, why is your uniform all torn up? I mean, usually it looks almost brand-new," asked Kitty as she came up behind Lance and looked over his shoulder at the torn and still-blood-stained uniform.

Lance jumped a little, surprised that Kitty had snuck up on him and after a minute, his heartbeat returned to normal. He then turned to look at her. He then said sheepishly, "Well, I haven't really had a chance to patch up and wash my uniform since the last battle, because I've been busy at my garage and earning enough money to support the Brotherhood and Acolytes."

"Okay, sounds logical," said Kitty, who then added, "but that uniform isn't really fit for a battle against Apocalypse, or anyone else for that matter. It just doesn't give you enough protection from attacks. Maybe…" finished Kitty as she took Lance's uniform from him and examined it. She then snapped her fingers and grabbed a few of the extra black new recruits uniforms, some excess adamantium and some lightweight steel that she quickly took from the Danger Room, and got out a sewing kit that she kept in her area of the room.

She then began to fix Lance's uniform as quickly as she could, with the process going faster than it normally would have because of her newfound ability of super-speed. After a few minutes, with Lance blinking rapidly to keep up with her, she stopped her work and showed Lance his new uniform.

Lance's uniform was altered considerably, but still had its trademark stripes, except they were now burgundy, black, and silver with small X-Men patches on both shoulders in silver with a black "X" on each of them. His helmet was now replaced with a much sturdier one, as the former helmet had at least a dozen cracks in them from previous years. This one was made of a mixture of strong adamantium and lightweight steel, which when combined gave it the strength of a material that was almost impenetrable. The helmet came down in back to protect his head and had a visor in front to protect his eyes from the ground that could be thrown up when he used his powers.

He still had his black trench coat and brown gloves, and now had no boots, as his feet were exactly like Kitty's, except for the fact of color and that they were bigger. He also had a brown belt with a silver "X" emblazoned on it in the middle surrounded by black. His uniform was also altered to allow his wings to come out and not be squished beneath it, and his tail was also allowed to protrude from his body.

"Well, what do you think?" asked Kitty excitedly as she watched Lance take his uniform and look it over.

"It's amazing. I didn't know my uniform could be made to encompass both my past as a member of the Brotherhood and my future as an X-Man. Not to mention the fact that it looks brand new. Thank you so much Kitty; I now feel like a real X-Man," said Lance as he looked at Kitty with gratitude shining in his eyes.

"Well, put it on silly," said Kitty as she giggled a bit in response to Lance's reaction. She watched as Lance went into a changing area, waited, and watched as a few minutes later came out in his uniform.

"Lance you look like you really do belong to the X-Men now," whispered Kitty as she looked at Lance in his new uniform.

"Well Pretty-Kitty, I truly feel like I'm a real X-Man now," replied Lance in response to Kitty's words.

"Alright where's the _Blackbird_?" asked Lance as he completed his uniform by putting on his helmet.

"Right, this way," said Kitty as she led Lance through another door on the opposite side of the door they had come through. As the door opened to allow them access, Lance could only gape at the size of the _Blackbird_, which had obviously grown in size compared to the last time he had seen it, also taking notice of the other aircraft present in the gigantic hanger

"Uh, Kitty, you didn't happen to expand the _Blackbird_ and its capabilities since the last time I rode in it, did you?" asked Lance nervously as he looked at the huge plane up close.

"Yeah, we did, because with more and more mutants coming to the Institute, we needed to expand the size of all of our vehicles to accommodate them. As for the upgrades in its systems, let's just say that Logan and Hank felt the _Blackbird_ needed a tune-up," responded Kitty as she went over to the plane and typed in a code in the control panel next to it.

Lance watched as a keyhole appeared in the door to the plane and Kitty put in a small key-which on inspection looked more like a small black playing card than a regular key- and watched as the door opened.

"You coming?" asked Kitty jokingly as she turned from the door to look at Lance, who was still staring in amazement at the sheer size of the plane. He snapped out of his trance at Kitty's words and nodded. He then proceeded to follow Kitty onto the plane and took the co-pilot's seat, making sure to buckle himself in tightly. Kitty meanwhile took the pilot's seat and began adjusting all of the controls.

After a few minutes, Kitty flashed a reassuring grin, closed the door to the plane and made final adjustments to the plane's controls. The door, hidden behind a waterfall, opened and as the plane took off Lance could feel himself start to become a little nauseous.


	29. Imprisonment in the cells and Introducti

**A/N: **Wow… two chapters in one weekend… awesome, huh? Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I think this time I'll imitate Todd… maybe then I'll be able to get my certificate of ownership…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 28: Imprisonment in the cells and Introduction of Jean**

**_

Hallway #5, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 15, 8:00 AM

_**

Up on Asteroid Evolution, Jason was using his powers to make sure each and every captured mutant was put into their own prison cell, each equipped with their worst fear, among other smaller ones. This fear, whether it was physical or mental, would be used against the captured mutant; but besides this, each mutant also had a mutation inhibitor device attached around his/her neck.

"Jason, you are sure this plan will work?" asked Piotr, who was with the prisoners as Jason moved them by force to their individual cells. He was there in case someone like Jean Grey-Summers, a.k.a. The Phoenix, who was the prisoner being moved at the moment, broke free and rebelled.

Jean Grey-Summers, also known as The Phoenix, was being controlled by Jason and forced to walk to where her cell was. Her waist-length hair had some dried blood in it and was a tangled mess. Her usually vibrant emerald eyes were now a pale yellow, signaling that she was under Jason's control. Her uniform was tattered from the battle and now consisted of a long sleeved shirt and knee-length shorts, the rest of her pants missing, along with her gloves and headband. Her silver hoops, one in each ear, flashed from the light that shone off them.

"Yes, this will work," responded Jason as he continued to control Jean, signaled by the yellow gleam in his eyes, signaling the use of his powers. "You see, Piotr, each mutant will be in their own cell, with each of them having to relive their most horrifying experience, whether it be physical or emotional. They will be unable to access their powers, but in case one of them manages to break free of their mental restraints, each of them is fitted with a mutation inhibitor device. This machine will prevent them from using their powers, as well as tapping into their minds and bringing out the worst fears present there, making them relive it over and over again. Therefore, you see, there really is no way for them to escape. There, now is that the last of them?" asked Jason as he put Jean into her cell, and closed the door. After a minute, they could hear her screaming in pain.

"Mastermind, Colossus. Is the task completed?" asked Erik as he came down the hall with purposeful strides, Raven and Pietro behind him.

"Yes Magneto. Every mutant we captured is in their own cell and dealing with their own fears," said Jason as he looked from Erik's ice blue eyes to the cell where Jean was screaming in pain.

"I see…" said Erik as he continued down the hallway, looking in through the cells' bars to see thorough reinforced door to the victim inside. He heard Scott yelling for Jean to not leave him and for her to not come any nearer to him because he didn't have his shades or visor from 2 hallways away, though to an observer it was obvious that he had his visor on. (Erik was in hallway #5, Scott was in hallway #3).

Two cells down, at the end of the hallway, Ororo was curled up in a ball, yelling for someone to help her out of the space she was crammed into.

"Let me out! Let me out!" screamed Ororo in fear as she imagined herself buried under a house, with her sister Vivian- a human- and her nephew Evan already dead under the rubble, and she herself was badly injured, pinned under a part of the inner wall.

"Logan, help me!" screamed Ororo as she curled herself into a tighter ball, hoping that she would be rescued soon, and by Logan, whom she had called out to through the rubble- or so she thought- and whom she knew would risk his own life to save her life. She knew deep inside that even if he didn't show it, he cared about her more than as a good friend.

'So, Storm cares for the Wolverine,' thought Erik to himself as he looked at Ororo once more, and then continued down the hall, with Jason, Piotr, Raven, and Pietro following him. 'I'll have to remember that… for another time, that is.'


	30. Pietro’s Feelings and a Dealt Punishment

**Disclaimer:** Well, while I thought having Todd's abilities would allow me to get my certificate of ownership I found out that splitting slime was not as easy as it looks… YUCK!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 29: Pietro's Feelings and a Dealt Punishment**

**_Hallway#11, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 15, 8:15 AM_**

As Erik continued to walk down the hall, Pietro decided to go ahead of his father and see which of the hallways a large amount of screaming was coming from. Pietro sped over to hallway #11, and looked at the two cell occupants, one of which was Ray, who was desperately trying to keep himself from screaming but was unable to, seeing his loved ones killed.

"Don't die, no!" screamed Ray as he clutched his head and fell to the bottom of his cell, screaming and crying in pain.

Pietro shook his head in pity and then looked for the other occupant in the hallway and froze on seeing the cell a few feet away from Ray's which contained a screaming Lexie, who was clutching her head in pain.

Pietro winced as he listened to Lexie screaming in pain. Lexie herself was feeling needles put into her, and saw herself being taken by force back to the now rebuilt organization of HYDRA to train her once again to be a killing machine with no emotion. She had never relished this idea, but up until she had formally joined the X-men, it was all that she could do or think about.

"No, no, I don't want to go back! I hate that place! Can't you see that I am happy here? Can't you see that I feel like a real person instead of some sort of killing machine? Someone help me! Please! Anyone? Help!" screamed Lexie as she clutched her head at the pain she felt.

'Lexie…' thought Pietro as he looked at the screaming woman. Although he wouldn't admit this to anyone, he had more than a crush on Lexie, but made sure that no one but maybe Wanda knew; certainly not Lexie herself- yet. The reason stemmed from the fact that if Logan found out about it, he would make sure that Pietro never saw the light of day again. Another reason was that Logan would probably gore Pietro on the grounds of "I can't trust him as far as I can hurl him".

"Pietro, whatever is so interesting?" asked Erik as he came up behind Pietro quietly, causing him to jump and blush a bit, which he didn't appreciate doing because his pale skin didn't hide blushing in the least.

"Nothing Father; why?" asked Pietro as innocently as he could. He knew that his father wasn't fooled by any of Pietro's acting, as he knew all of Pietro's tricks, having learned them over the past 8 years.

"Oh, no reason…" mused Erik as he looked from his son to the screaming Lexie. It dawned on him what was going on and he stored this bit of information away for future use.

"Come along, Quicksilver. I want to see the mutant that is needed for my plan to work," said Erik as he began walking away from Lexie's cage and towards the door at the end of the hall. He then crossed another hallway and opened a titanium door with his powers, and entered, followed by the four mutants accompanying him. This led to another hallway, which contained three cells: one for Avalanche when he got his hands on him, one where the human Amanda Sefton was screaming in pain, and one for the mutant Shadowcat. The hallway was numbered #16, and was situated close to the infirmary on the space structure.

When he got there, however, he was shocked to find the hallway empty, excluding Amanda, and on seeing it, began to anger. This caused the bars on the cells and the walls of the complex itself to begin shaking in response to his powers. Pietro, on seeing this, used his speed to race to Erik and put on his helmet, which his father had been carrying in his arm, so that his powers could be contained and not go out of control.

"Where is Shadowcat?" asked Erik in a dangerous tone of voice as he regained control over his powers. He glared at Pietro and Raven, both of whom had been in charge of the operation, as if expecting them to produce the mutant and say that they had been keeping her in a separate area or something along those lines. On getting no response, however, he asked again, "Where is Shadowcat?"

"You mean she isn't there?" asked Pietro as he looked at the cell, knowing it was a useless question to ask but wanting to buy himself some time while he thought of an excuse.

However, Erik accessed his limited telepathic abilities and read Pietro's mind. When he found out about this, he knew that Pietro was trying to buy time, and got mad. He used his powers to twist the metal from the door of one of the empty cells and then wrapped them around Pietro in a hold that not even Piotr or Fred could escape from.

"I will now ask you Raven," said Erik as he turned away from Pietro (who was pleading for release), "Where is Shadowcat?"

"I do not know, sir," responded Raven in as firm a voice as she was able to manage, but Erik could sense her fear of the punishment she was about to get, and also sensed loathing at the fact that she had to take orders from him.

"Well since neither of you know where she is, I will have to find her myself," said Erik in a calm tone of voice, scaring the mutants with him.

As he walked down the hall towards a room at the end of it, he waved his hand in the air and Pietro, still covered in the twisted metal, was dragged out of the cell he had been in. Then, the metal around him came loose and wrapped itself around Raven, leaving Pietro kneeling on the hallway floor to try and regain his breath. Raven, on the other hand, found herself with a severely limited amount of air and in the cell Pietro had just been in.

"That is your punishment, Raven," stated Erik matter-of-factly as he continued to walk, "for having the nerve to loathe me when you know very well that I can sense what you are feeling and thinking through telepathy. The rest of you; come." Erik opened another metal door that led to a separate part of the complex, walked down the hall for a few minutes, opened that door with his powers, and left both doors open for the Acolytes and Pietro to follow. He left Raven trapped in the twisted metal and in the cell meant for Kitty, with barely enough room in the metal to breathe.

Piotr and Jason walked quickly towards the door, and Pietro followed a few minutes later, walking slowly to ease the pain he felt in his chest because of the metal's hold on him a few minutes earlier. The door to first the room in the hall, and then the door to the hallway, slammed shut, leaving Raven in the cell and the whole of the Institute trapped, with 2 people in each hallway, some hallways having only one. There were a total of 30 hallways spread throughout the base. Everyone except Xavier was experiencing their worst fears over and over again, and without the use of their powers, they had no chance of freeing themselves and screamed as they slowly lost their minds and themselves.


	31. Revelation of a Legend and a Promise

**Disclaimer:** Now I think I'll try using Blob super-strength to push my way through the lawyers' offices and get my certificate…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 30: Revelation of a Legend and a Promise**

**Blackbird_, En route to Asteroid Evolution- May 15, 9:00 AM_**

As the _Blackbird_ flew at the speed of sound towards Asteroid Evolution, Kitty kept looking at Lance as she guided the plane into outer space and out of the earth's gravitational pull. She noticed that his face was slowly returning to its normal color, which was now dark green but was still a bit pale.

"You okay, Lance?" asked Kitty, concern in her voice as she set the plane on autopilot and a slower speed and turned to look at Lance, who was still a bit pale. He also had his eyes tightly closed, so as to not look out the window into the depths of space and his claws were now digging into the leather co-pilot's chair. Kitty saw this and thought, 'Oh, Logan's not going to like that…'

After a few minutes of waiting, Lance slowly opened his eyes and answered a bit shakily "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little sick to my stomach right now, that's all."

Kitty nodded at Lance's answer and then took out the sheets that had all of the profiles that Cerebro had printed out earlier and began to examine them. A few minutes later, Kitty exclaimed, "Lance, do you know what these sheets say?"

Lance looked over at her-his face had regained its normal coloring once more- and replied, "No Kitty, what do those sheets say?"

"They, like, say that in order to defeat Apocalypse once and for all 8 mutants need to come together and combine their powers to turn Apocalypse to stone. Then they will send him into the time stream where he will float adrift for eternity; or until he's released once more," said Kitty as she read the information off the sheets of paper she had in her lap.

After a moment, with Lance taking the sheets and looking over them, he asked suddenly, "Kitty, these sheets have no English translation on them, because when I looked up this information on impulse on Cerebro I printed it in the language it was originally written in, right?"

"Yeah, why?" asked Kitty as she looked up from the papers to meet Lance's eyes.

"Well, how do you know the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics language? … or do you know how to read it?" asked Lance as he looked from the marks and symbols on the sheets to Kitty's eyes.

"I don't, like, know," asked Kitty with surprise evident in her voice, "I mean, all I know is that whenever I look at these sheets, with the markings and all, I can see what they mean and say. Must be one of my powers that both Hank and Cerebro forgot to mention, I guess," said Kitty as she looked from Lance's surprised eyes down to the sheets.

"Anyway," she continued, "according to the hieroglyphics, the eight mutants will consist of the God of Fire, the Goddess of Sorcery, the God of the Sun, the Goddess of the Moon, the God of Water, the Goddess of the Sky, the God of the Earth, and the Goddess of Shadows. When these eight mutants combine their powers, it will create a force strong enough to turn Apocalypse to stone. Then, an opening to the time stream will appear and he will be sucked into it, where he will remain encased in stone while floating in the time stream for all time; or until he is released again. Then the mutants will float into the sky and bring peace to the world for as long as it shall last. Then, the hieroglyphics end, so I don't know what happens next," finished Kitty as she put down the sheets and rubbed her head, as she tried to absorb all of the information she had just learned from the sheets.

"Okay, so we know that we need to find the eight mutants that have the power to defeat Apocalypse," said Kitty after a moment of silence between her and Lance, with only the roar of the _Blackbird_'s engines breaking the silence. "But the problem is," she continued, "is that we don't know who the eight mutants are."

"Yes, we do," said Lance after a moment as he picked up the sheets that Kitty had placed on her lap and shifted through them until he came to the ones he was looking for. "These are the sheets that have the information we need," said Lance as he put down the rest of the sheets and handed Kitty the sheets he held in his hands.

"You can't be serious," whispered Kitty after she had finished looking at the sheets in shock as she looked from them to Lance, "These are the eight chosen mutants?"

"Yep," said Lance as he looked at the sheets, which had the profiles of Kitty, himself, and six other young adults and mutants. "We are two of the chosen mutants, and the other six on these sheets are our companions. I'm the God of the Earth and you are the Goddess of the Shadows. Our powers match the divine beings in the hieroglyphics, plus you and I are the most powerful mutants in the world now, as the legend said that the God of the Earth and the Goddess of Shadows are the most powerful as well. I found out about the legend from hearing Magneto mumble to himself a few months ago and didn't think it existed, but in reality, it's as real as you and I are," finished Lance. He then looked at Kitty, who had apprehension on her face and worry in her eyes.

"But Lance, what if, like, we aren't the ones in the legend? I mean, come on, we only got our new powers three nights ago, and even now we don't have full control over, like, them. Plus, are you sure that the other six on this sheet are, like, the other six divine beings? I mean, come on, the only person who can control the water and sky is Storm and she isn't, like, on here, and some of these powers, like, none of the chosen ones have them. Plus, some of their personalities make them seem like they aren't the right people… are you, like, sure you have the right people identified for this job? I mean, like, what if we all get together and still fail? What if Apocalypse, like, kills us first? What'll happen then?" asked Kitty loudly, the whole time she had been ranting her voice growing steadily louder and more high-pitched.

She stopped rambling when Lance laid a hand on her shoulder, slowly moved closer, and kissed her on the lips. Kitty leaned into the kiss and wrapped her arms around Lance's neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist ((remember, they are both sitting in the _Blackbird))_. As they kissed, a small tremor ran the length of the plane and the circuitry sparked a bit like it would when Kitty would phase through it. After a few minutes, they broke apart, both breathing heavily, and stared into each other's eyes, neither noticing that the sparking and the tremor had stopped.

"Kitty," whispered Lance as he took one of Kitty's hands in his own, "Listen to me: we will survive and we will get rid of Apocalypse, once and for all. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, but Lance, what if…" began Kitty but stopped when Lance put his finger to her lips, silencing her.

"No buts, Kitty," said Lance as he removed his finger and looked into her eyes, "We will win, and I promise you, when this whole thing is over, you and I, we'll start over; make a fresh start. But this time, it will be permanent, and our relationship will have no end. I love you Kitty, and I promise that I will stand by you, no matter what happens or whoever tries to come between us. After all," said Lance as he smiled at his words, "we can use our powers to get revenge on Summers and Grey for breaking us up all those times before, right?"

Kitty laughed softly at this, and smiled up at Lance while saying, "You're right Lance. We can, and will do this. I love you too, and I don't want to ever lose you again. I've lost you too many times in the past because of Scott and Jean, and I know that this time, they will not break us up because we can use our powers to stop Jean's. In fact, we can use our powers on her," said Kitty as she smiled once more at Lance, this time with a wicked gleam flashing in her eyes at the prospect of revenge on Jean and Scott. Lance smiled at the evil look in Kitty's eyes, knowing for a fact that he was going to have fun seeing Jean and Scott get what was coming to them.


	32. Fears of the Imprisoned Part 1

**A/N: **I won't be able to update for a while, considering vacation's coming up… anyway, here's a nice long chapter to thicken the plot and make you think… Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Well, I'm now sporting a few broken limbs and ribs for my stunt at trying to imitate Blob… in fact I hurt all over—OUCH!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 31: Fears of the Imprisoned- Part 1**

_**Hallways #1- 13, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 15, 1:00 PM**_

As Kitty and Lance rushed to the rescue, those who were imprisoned in the cells were screaming their lungs out in the pain and sadness they were feeling. All of the captured mutants had been briefly treated before being led to their cells, but that didn't stop them from still feeling pain.

In hallway #1, Amara, the Nova Roman princess, was screaming as she felt the magma of her island's volcano begin to take over her. Amara had been sacrificed to her island's gods and goddesses in order to prevent her peoples' destruction, which would be a direct result of the volcano's eruption. However, unlike the last time, when her mutant powers had appeared and protected her, giving her the strength to calm the volcano down and live to tell what had happened to her. This time, however, she felt the magma begin to burn her alive. She screamed in pain as the magma began to overtake her, burning her skin and causing her to see her life before her eyes at a speed that not even Pietro could match. Amara eventually ended up in the Earth's core, disappearing forever beneath the hot lava that surrounded her body and dragged her down to the very center of the Earth, where no one had ever ventured before or imagined.

The image suddenly switched to a mob scene, where someone whom she barely made out to be Ray protecting her. She heard Ray yell, 'Amara, don't worry, I'll protect you.' Ray had then began to shoot bolts of electricity at the oncoming mob but before he could even get out five shots he was hit on both arms. He fell to his knees in pain and tried to get up. Amara, watching the scene, had been about to get up and help her fallen teammate when gunshots rang out in the darkness and she heard Ray scream in pain. Ray fell backwards, electricity sparking from his fingertips when they collided with the pavement, blood gushing out of a monstrous hole in his chest and a smaller one in his head, right above his hairline, causing his orange bangs to turn an ugly shade of dark yellow, and then brown. Amara screamed and tried to get to her feet, to get revenge for her friend's death, but before she could even move she heard a second round of gunshots ring out and felt the metal bullets implant themselves in her. Amara then felt no more..

Bobby was clutching his head as he felt the red-hot flames lick around him, surrounding him in an ever-tightening circle of fire. Bobby screamed as he felt his powers begin to meld into his body, making him even more susceptible to the fire. Bobby's screams reached a new decibel as the flames, now a dangerous white color, began to cause his entire body begin to melt. Bobby watched as his skin melted and formed a puddle at his feet, felt his organs turn to liquid and join his skin in the growing puddle. Bobby ended up in a huge black puddle on the floor, his ice powers having done nothing to help; except maybe letting death come more quickly than might have been normal, and the fire now formed a ring around the puddle, letting Bobby suffer for all eternity.

The image then switched to Bobby and Jubilee's wedding day sometime in the future, with the whole of the school gathered on the front lawn, dressed in their very best. Bobby saw himself at the altar, Jubilee at his side, and watched, rather than heard, them exchange vows and they were about to kiss and become husband and wife when a scream and maniacal laughter was heard. The next thing Bobby saw was blood and when he turned to his soon-to-be wife and saw her on the ground, her life dripping onto the grass, staining it red and the earth gobbling it up greedily from a head wound. Bobby fell to his knees and cradled Jubilee's body, not caring if he got blood on himself, screaming in rage at the loss of his love.

In hallway #2, Hank was trying to speak Shakespeare to calm himself, but suddenly screamed as he felt needles prick his skin. Images flashed through his mind of the time spend in Area 51 9 years ago after having been captured in battle. The scientists there had been curious; how did a primitive creature like the blue-furred one know so much about life in general; and why did he talk? They ran numerous tests on him, which included drawing blood for samples, and torturing Hank at the same time by saying things in his ears like 'Kill the beast' or 'Make him suffer'. Hank knew there was no escape and rather than try to find one resigned himself to a life of misery and pain, knowing he would never see his family.

Suddenly the image switched to him teaching a class of young mutants at the Institute, all of them resembling in some way the X-Men, Brotherhood, Acolyte, and X-Factor team members. Hank realized that these were the second generation of the four teams from the early twenty-first century, and that they were all waiting patiently for him to begin. Hank smiled, his fangs sticking out, and turned to the board to begin explaining a Shakespearean quote when he felt himself violently tremble. Hank dropped his piece of chalk and clutched himself, doing the best he could to squelch what he knew was going to happen. However, once started the process couldn't be stopped and Hank let out a primal scream and began to change. His light blue skin turned black, his normally gentle eyes turned ferocious and he began to pound his chest like a gorilla. He suddenly jumped onto a desk and picked up a young girl who looked like a mix between Pietro and Lexie and roared in his face, causing the girl, who must have been about fourteen, to scream in shock and utter fear. Hank dropped the girl and moved on to one who was ready to fight, his hands together and forming something that looked similar to Tabitha's cherry bombs. Just as the boy was about to throw what was in his hand Hank leapt at him and pinned him to the wall, his fangs dripping saliva at what he was about to digest. Just as Hank was about to bite he felt intense heat flow through him and quickly turned his head, noting that Scott was at the door, his hand on his visor, and then everything went black.

Torpid, who is a Morlock incapable of speech, was clutching her head and silently screamed as she felt the pain overwhelm her. Torpid is 20 years old with waist length light brown hair, light green-gray eyes, and is short for her age: 5 feet. Torpid comes from the heart of New York City, but when her mutation developed, she was forced to go underground with the Morlocks.

Even though Torpid is unable to talk, her personality is one of a gentle person who will do what it takes to protect those who have taken her in as family. She is one of the persons who will make life in the Morlocks more bearable for those who are new. Torpid communicates through either psychic links, or through sign language, as she has been mute since she was five years old.

Torpid's mutation is a physical one, with her entire right arm bigger than her other one, which is also slightly bigger than a normal person's hand and arm would be. When Torpid takes off the oversized gloves she wears, she can choose to either freeze or paralyze her victim with the slightest touch. The victim will remain this way for at the most an hour and thirty minutes, or when Torpid mentally releases them. The ability to communicate psychically with anyone was a side-affect when her mutation developed, and she values this ability highly.

Torpid, like most of the other Morlocks, has no official uniform for battle, but what she's seen in everyday is baggy light blue jeans with holes in the knees, a dark maroon T-shirt covered by a short light blue jacket, as extra clothing underground is hard to come by. She also wears beat up black sneakers and oversized black gardening gloves.

Torpid, in her mind, could see the Friends of Humanity slowly advancing on her, the rest of the Morlocks lying dead at her feet. Torpid soon found her back to the wall and she knew that even if she could retaliate she would be killed in an instant; her powers were for close-range attacks, and not long-range. All of a sudden she had a rush of courage and ran towards the leader, pulling off a glove as quickly as she could, but never got there as a round of bullets riddled her body and she fell down dead. Torpid could see the image rolling around and around in her head constantly, never changing, always the same; she never saw any of her family again.

In hallway #3, Danielle was experiencing herself being caught underneath an enormous avalanche, which caused her to fall into the Earth. However, unlike last time, her powers didn't kick in and coat her body with a power that would keep her alive for a short time. Dani could only scream as the rocks began to move on their own, coming closer and closer. Dani's fears intensified when she didn't feel anything her powers were gone. Dani's eyes swiveled up to where the rocks were heading her way and when they touched her she screamed in pain; it felt like they were burning her skin. Dani felt herself dying a slow and very painful death, knowing she would never see her grandfather again.

The image then switched to her walking down the road to her childhood home in Dark Hollow and waving hello to her grandfather Black Eagle, who was in a rocking chair on the front porch. Dani and Black Eagle were having an entertaining time, Dani talking about her life and Black Eagle telling her that she should find a young man worthy of her and marrying; she was, after all, responsible for passing her family traditions down to her children and the sooner she got started the better. All of a sudden fire began to swirl around their home. Black Eagle quickly got to his feet and pushed his granddaughter out of the way and out of the circle of flames that soon surrounded Dani's childhood home. Dani could only watch from her sprawled position on the ground in horror as her grandfather burned to death. When the fire had died down, Dani frantically searched for her grandfather and found his scorched, dead body. Dani's body shook with tears, and she sat down, screamed her heart out, and cried over the loss of the only family she ever knew; the only connection to her past and her heritage.

Scott was imagining that he and Jean were out at a nice restaurant when all of a sudden the Brotherhood attacked. They tried to fight them off, but then Todd pulled off Scott's glasses and laser beams shot out of his eyes uncontrolled. Scott was unable to neither control them nor close his eyes, that is, not until he heard the scream of his wife as she was hit dead on. Only then did the Brotherhood leave and let Scott have his glasses back. Scott could only look at the mangled body of his wife and scream.

The image then switched to when Scott was begging Jean to not leave him, as her high school sweetheart Duncan Matthews ((yes, Matthews!)) had returned. He promised Jean that he didn't hate her for her mutation and offered to take her away to find a cure and a chance at a normal life. Jean accepted, and although Scott begged her not to leave, she went and gave him back her wedding ring and engagement ring, and left Scott crying his heart out on the front lawn of the mansion.

In hallway #4, Logan could be heard growling and snarling as he felt himself get pricked with needles that wouldn't be affected by his healing factor. The pain they inflicted and whatever was in them remained with him, not going away or being purged out of his system. Logan heard himself yell in pain as the liquid adamantium was once more bonded to his bones, making himself significantly heavier than he had once been, claws being installed in his knuckles, ready to come out and cause damage at any moment. Logan saw himself being sent into battle at any opportunity that arose, gear on his body monitoring his vitals and telling the scientists everything they needed to know about Logan and his body. His abilities- adamantium claws, body, and healing factor were tested to their limit. However, unlike the real world, Logan was never able to escape and so, day after day, sat in his cold, dirty cell dreaming of the freedom that could be his, if he could only find a way out.

He then saw before his eyes some type of wedding that was taking place in a church that he sometimes frequented when he was in the mood and was shocked to realize it was his. He looked for the bride and saw Ororo walking down the aisle, a shoulder-less white gown complimenting every curve of her body and setting her skin aglow. As he watched her walk down the aisle he suddenly heard the whir of a Sentinel as it landed crashed through the church's roof, killing those who had been sitting right under the roof. Logan growled and, popping out his claws, began to charge it but was stopped when the Sentinel activated a device that negated all mutant powers, along with having a magnet hidden inside of it. Logan could only watch as those whom he considered family were decimated before his very eyes. He then screamed in rage when he saw both Lexie and Ororo picked up by the giant robot, one woman in each hand, examined, and then on being confirmed to be mutants blown to pieces before his eyes. Logan fell to his knees and did something he never ever did- he cried over his losses and wished he could go back in time and save them from the fates they had just suffered.

Forge could only scream as he saw himself being sucked into Middleverse, the result of one of his inventions gone wrong; again. However, this time Middleverse wasn't quite how he remembered it; this time it was filled with monsters of all various sizes and shapes. Forge had no materials with which to build weapons, and so could only run for as long as was humanly possible throughout the world he was now stuck in. When a creature finally caught up to him it grabbed Forge in a large paw and turned the inventor/doctor to face him, which caused Forge's face to turn deathly pale. Forge then screamed when he realized it was a giant fire-breathing mix between a dragon and a brown rabbit. Forge had always been afraid of rabbits, and still is due to a traumatic experience when he was two years old. Forge could only watch fearfully as the creature opened its mouth, revealing row after row of pearly white teeth, or rather fangs, and swallowed Forge in one gulp.

The image then changed to one of Erik using the full extent of his magnetic powers to send a satellite from space into Earth's atmosphere and directly on Forge's parents' home in California. Forge's blood-red eyes witnessed the whole incident from Asteroid Evolution, and since he was under Erik's, or rather Jason's control, didn't realize what was truly happening and could only laugh evilly as he watched his family being destroyed. His parents cried out in pain as they were killed instantly, metal parts still on fire raining down on the surrounding houses of the neighborhood. All of a sudden Forge's eyes returned to normal and he gasped as he realized just what he had done. He began to tremble; Erik had used his genius to help take over the world and in thanks, and per Forge's request, had killed his parents in a volley of fire. Forge broke down into tears; it was because of him that he had lost his parents a second time; this time forever.

In hallway #5, Ororo screamed as she felt a giant earthquake hit the Institute, causing the foundation of the mansion to give out. Ororo was the only one who didn't escape the collapsing Institute and felt herself being crushed under the weight of the entire mansion. No matter how hard the others tried they couldn't get to her or save her; not even Logan. Ororo could hear first her sister, and then her nephew trying to save her but screaming in pain when falling rubble buried them. Ororo's eyes watched as she saw the walls begin to collapse on her faster and faster and then she felt nothing but silent and blessed darkness.

She then saw herself and Logan in a battle against the Friends of Humanity while trying to protect the school and its inhabitants. Although her powers had protected them for the moment, Ororo knew there was absolutely no way in hell that she could survive the next onslaught; she was just too tired. She was too weak from the loss of blood to use her powers anymore. She then heard Logan say, 'Don' worry darlin', I'll make sure you stay safe.' Logan shot her a small grin then with a resounding 'snikt' unleashed all six of his claws and charged, not bothering to hear Ororo's voice telling him to not go. Logan stopped dead in his tracks when he felt himself get hit with a blast that had the power of a small atomic bomb, Ororo's screams of agony falling on deaf ears. Ororo ran to Logan's side and gently stroked his face, trying to memorize the fell of it before the humans killed her. Ororo draped herself across Logan's chest and cried into his torn uniform, the tears mixing with his blood, and that was the last thing Ororo did, as gunshots rang out and hit her numerous times. The FOH then left the two mutants on the ground and continued their advancement on the Institute.

Jean was screaming when she heard Scott say 'I'm sorry, Jean, but you aren't the prettiest woman anymore. In fact, everyone else here is prettier than you are.' Scott then turned and left, leaving a crying Jean in the foyer of the Institute. Jean screamed as she saw Scott go and kiss a woman whom she had always felt a twinge of jealousy for- and was now her enemy- Rogue. Rogue had somehow gained the ability to touch, and she and Scott were taking advantage of it- right in front of the cheated telepath.

Jean then screamed as voices of all races, accents, gender, and volume entered her mind, and her mind was unable to handle it. She ran to Xavier's office and asked for help in gaining better control of her powers- she reeled in shock as her mentor refused to help and demanded that she leave his office at once. Jean ran throughout the Institute, asking for help from everyone she met, even Rogue, and was turned down every time. She then ran to her husband and asked for help, but he, like all the others, refused to help. Jean then felt the pain go up in intensity, and then felt even more pain as her brain exploded inside her head. Jean fell to the floor, unable to feel anything anymore.

In hallway #6, Callisto was screaming as she saw her whole family destroyed. Callisto is the founder of the Morlocks, and the one who introduced Ororo's nephew, Evan, to the Morlocks in the first place. She runs the Morlocks, getting food from wherever she can, and does the best she can to ensure that those she calls "family" survive. She's about 5 feet 9 inches tall with short black hair, a black eye, with the other one being covered up by an eye-patch (she lost the eye in a fight against a mutant a short time before she met Evan). She also wears a black strip of cloth to keep her bangs out of her eye. She is 27 years old and her place of origin is unknown.

Callisto is a natural leader, and is wary of the "surface-dwellers", as she is afraid they might do harm to those whom she has vowed to protect. She was the one who gave mutants whose appearance made them easily recognized as mutants a home, and a family to support and love them. Callisto acts tough, and so seems like the typical "Ice Queen" to those who first meet her, but when you get to know her, she really is a nice person- not always- but she always makes those who need a home feel like they have one.

Her mutant ability's that of her genes making her the perfect huntress, plus the addition of keen senses, superb tracking skills, hyper sensitivity to everything around her, and the stealth of both wolves and lions. Callisto's mind is always calculating plans for the future, and she is the head of the defense systems for the Morlocks.

She is also able to run with a speed that is about half of Pietro's, but only in certain situations. No one outside the Morlocks know she can do this, as she keeps it a closely guarded secret. They also know she only uses it in extreme situations. She also is a trainer in her own right, as she's the one who taught Evan the skills needed to gain mastery over his powers, and teaches the other Morlocks to gain control as well.

She is usually seen in black jeans with holes in them, a worn black T-shirt, black boots, black fingerless gloves, and a black vest, with knives and the occasional gun, whether regular or laser, on her. She uses these weapons to protect the Morlocks as best as she can. Her outfit is also her uniform in battle, and although she lost an eye, she shouldn't be underestimated as she can move with the speed of a huntress and slit your throat if she feels like it, and all before you even know what she is doing.

Callisto screamed as she watched her family being massacred one by one and she was unable to help them. Her legs had both been broken, and Callisto lay on the ground of the sewer and could only watch, unable to move. Callisto's eyes widened as she watched as, one by one, her friends collapsed, all riddled with numerous bullet holes or gaping holes in their chests or head. She felt tears slip out and closed her eyes to try and prevent them from escaping and so didn't notice the bullet that came whizzing at her. Next thing she knew, she was dead.

She then saw herself being controlled by humans, and although she was aware of what she was doing, she was unable to stop. Callisto- the real one- could only watch from inside the depths of her mind as she led the humans through the mazes of tunnels beneath Bayville, intent on destroying her target. When they reached the Morlocks' home she showed herself and told them that she had brought something to end their misery. Then she signaled the FOH in and watched as bullets rang down upon the unprepared mutants. She, too, joined in on the "fun" and, laughing maniacally, shot those who had depended on her for food, protection, a home, and friendship. She then bowed down in front of the FOH's leader and asked for her reward and she got it; she herself was shot as a reward for helping the FOH destroy the Morlocks.

Evan Daniels clutched his head, as he felt the spikes that usually covered his head begin to retract painfully into his body, and could only scream in pain. Evan, a.k.a. Spyke, is Ororo's nephew, and is from New York, New York. He is 26 years old, is about 5 feet 8 inches tall with dark brown skin, and is African-American. He has bleach-blond hair that he wears cut close to his head, but like Ray has a few spikes in it caused by the bit of hair gel he uses, and brown eyes.

His personality is that of having a big mouth, a cocky attitude, and a short temper. He loves to skateboard, and was on the verge of becoming the next Tony Hawk when his powers went out of control and chose to quit the X-Men and join the Morlocks. Evan's archrival and former best friend is Pietro. Evan loves to brag about his stunts as a skateboarder, and will do anything to impress a pretty girl. Evan sometimes has trouble with other people, especially "mutie-haters", and will do anything to protect those he cares about. Evan's a generally nice kid, but when he gets mad, make sure you aren't anywhere in the vicinity.

Evan's ability's to shoot brown bone spikes from any part of his body (chest, back, hands, etc.), the ability to create a bone spike armor around himself (similar to how Bobby covers himself in his ice-armor/form), and the ability to shoot not only regular bone spikes, but flame-tipped ones.

A new ability's that of being able to charge his spikes with energy, similar to Remy's ability, and they will self-destruct on contact. One difference between Remy and him is that Remy can charge any inanimate object but Evan can only charge his spikes. ((new ability!))

Evan's uniform is black with dark brown stripes going from shoulder to shoulder, down his arms, and down his legs. He has black boots, black gloves, and a spiked helmet that he created. This helmet is permanent, unlike his armor, which he now knows how to control. Evan originally planned on returning to the X-Men when he had regained control of his powers, but decided to remain with the Morlocks, and became their protector from those "mutie-haters" who wished to harm them.

Like other Morlocks, Evan wears what he wears for battle everyday, but will sometimes add a dark brown coat to cover up the holes on his uniform.

Evan works as the "protector" of the Morlocks, and will make sure that no humans that hate mutants ever get into the tunnels. Evan has even killed to make sure his new family remains safe. He will sometimes leave to go visit his aunt, but despite her pleas will always return to the Morlocks.

Evan could only scream as he witnessed his second family; people who had accepted and helped him when his powers went out of control- the Morlocks- being murdered in front of his eyes. Evan helplessly watched from inside a bright green gooey substance that he vaguely recognized as having come from a Sentinel, considering he had been encased in the exact same substance years ago, and so was unable to help. He could only watch as the X-Men, X-Factor, Brotherhood, Acolytes, and the new mutants at the school came to try and help get rid of the FOH, but no matter how much power they had they were no match for the FOH, and Evan closed his eyes as he saw the bodies land in front of him, one by one face up, eyes in the back of their heads, and blood all over the tunnels. Evan shivered as he saw Pietro's blood-soaked skin and hair, his eyes pleading with him to save him but then he was struck down and Evan screamed as he witnessed these brutal murders, guilty that he could have helped them; if only he was free.

The image then switched to a battle with the Sentinel that had appeared a few months ago at the school during one of the rare times he had visited. Instead of the mutants wining, with the robot being completely destroyed and the remains dumped, courtesy of the _Blackbird_ in Antarctica, the giant, human-built robot had instead eliminated everyone but him and Ororo. Evan was preparing to launch a hoard of spikes at it, all flame-tipped, when the robot had suddenly shot a laser at his aunt, who even though was in the air couldn't escape in time. Evan could only watch as Ororo was struck in the chest and fell from the sky, blood flying everywhere from a gaping wound in her chest. Evan ran and caught his aunt in his arms and tears leaked from his eyes and dripped down onto his chest. Evan felt helpless because he hadn't been able to do anything to save his aunt's life.

In hallway #7, Jubilee, who had been revived and treated by Jason in the infirmary before being put under mind control, screamed as she relived the images of her foster family's murder by their supposed "mutant-friendly" neighbors when they found out that Jubilee really was a mutant. She and her foster family had moved from their hometown to try to find safety from the ever-growing influence of the FOH, but their neighbors had reported them and the local chapter of the FOH took it upon themselves to finish what another chapter had started. When the mob had come onto the front lawn Jubilee had managed to escape from a kitchen window and to safety in the nearby woods as she watched, with tears rolling down her cheeks, as her family's home was burned to the ground, the rest of her family still trapped inside.

Jubilee then watched as Sabretooth cornered her and Bobby in the middle of Bayville, but oddly enough there were no witnesses gathered around them; no humans coming to see a mutant get killed. Although they tried to defend themselves, the two young adults could only watch as the huge cat-like mutant advanced on them. Bobby attacked first, and although he had his ice armor on Sabretooth was still able to sink his claws into Bobby's chest. A few minutes later, after digging around in Bobby's chest, he pulled out the ice mutant's heart. Jubilee covered her mouth and screamed in fear as she saw her fiancé fall to the ground, dead. Sabretooth then walked away, after throwing Bobby's heart on the ground near its owner, laughing at his victory. Jubilee could only fall down to her knees beside Bobby and cry her heart out.

Façade, a Morlock, could be seen screaming as he clutched his head in absolute pain.

Façade is 28 years old, has short black hair, light yellow skin with tints of gray in it, and black eyes. Façade is third in command of the Morlocks, with Callisto being in command followed by Evan. His birthplace is unknown, although it's sometimes thought that he is of Mexican heritage because of his looks.

Façade, like Callisto, is very untrusting of humans, and is always reluctant to have any relationship with the surface-dwellers at all. Façade was mean and cruel to Evan when he first arrived, but soon warmed up and proved how loyal he was to his family and friends.

Façade's power's that of being able to camouflage himself into any object, almost like a chameleon, and is therefore one of the best mutants when it comes to the business of reconnaissance. He can also blend into any substance, even if it is liquid, and is therefore invaluable when it comes to collecting food for the Morlock community. Façade is also able to make other people and things camouflaged when he touches them, which is a power he earned when training with Callisto.

Façade's everyday clothes and uniform are just light blue jeans, a torn black T-shirt, a gray and yellow jacket, and gray sneakers. He will also sometimes don a black hat to cover up his face, which is a bright yellow and gray.

Like Evan, Façade is one of the protectors of the Morlocks, and is invaluable at scaring the humans away, as he can project his voice from his hiding place and make it seem as if a ghost was in the vicinity.

Façade screamed as he saw himself unable to use his powers to escape from his adversaries, who he saw soon had him cornered in a tunnel underneath Bayville. He saw himself standing there, trying to plead with the humans while their numerous guns were pointed at his head (in reality, something he would never, even if given the chance to live a normal life, do) to spare his life, and after a few minutes where some conversing took place he got a yes. Façade then began to walk away, trusting in the humans' word (another thing he would normally never do), and was promptly shot in the back of the head.

He then saw himself in front of Torpid, who was bleeding heavily from a wound in her stomach, trying to protect her from the advancing Sabretooth. He, however, was crudely pushed aside, and so was forced to camouflage into the walls of the sewer. Façade then tried to grab Torpid and make a run through it as he ran along the walls of the tunnel but he was shot through the head with a metal bullet before he could even get close to Torpid. Façade never saw Torpid or any of the Morlocks again.

In hallway #8, Jamie was desperately trying to get the fears he was feeling out of his head, but because he was unable to use his powers, he was overwhelmed with more fear than he would have felt if he had been able to clone himself. Jamie saw himself trying to make sure the younger mutants were doing okay under his guidance, but all of a sudden he saw them disappear into thin air; there was no evidence saying what had happened to them. He began to panic, and when he tried to explain that it wasn't his fault, Xavier didn't listen; didn't even give Jamie the benefit of the doubt. He threw Jamie out of the Institute and on his own once more, leaving Jamie to fend for himself on the bigoted streets of Bayville.

Jamie then saw himself being abused by his father once more, like when he was younger, but instead of managing to get away by escaping out of his bedroom window onto the fire escape and into the protection of the Xavier Institute his father found him trying to escape and slashed him. This caused clones to pop out of Jamie's body. Before he could try and plea with his father for help, he was slashed again and again with various kitchen knives, utensils, and anything else that his father found to beat him with. Jamie was left to bleed to death on the floor of his apartment.

Dorian, a young Morlock, was also in hallway #8, and like everyone else was screaming in pain at the images that appeared in his head. Dorian, a.k.a. Leech, is 20 years with pale green skin that sometimes looks like scales, light brown hair, and gray eyes. He is about 5 feet 3 inches tall, and is originally from Bayville New York. He became a Morlock at the age of 11, when the Friends of Humanity murdered his mother, and Callisto found him and took him in.

Dorian's personality is that of a shy person who would much rather try to settle things peacefully than fight for what needs needed. He is silent most of the time, only speaking to his closest friends, but when prompted, will talk and answer questions. He looks up to Evan, and one day hopes to be like him, and be able to stand up to his enemies on his own and get revenge for his mother's murder.

Dorian's ability's that of being to mentally negate any mutant's ability for a short period, along with any human power source. Dorian is able to control the length of time a mutant power is negated, but when it comes to human power sources, it lasts only a short time. Dorian was always picked on because of his skin color, and therefore grew up without many friends. The ones he had abandoned him when they found out he was a mutant.

He was the one who ultimately defeated Apocalypse the first time, indirectly, when Rogue took his powers and used them to imprison Apocalypse in his tomb for all time. Dorian is one of the most powerful mutants in the world, although he doesn't know it, because of his ability. The Friends of Humanity desperately want him, but the Morlocks keep him safe.

Dorian's uniform/clothes consist of torn dark blue jeans, a light green shirt covered by a dark brown and green cargo jacket, in which he gathers supplies for the Morlocks and himself. He also wears white sneakers that have holes in them.

Dorian is able to do reconnaissance with Façade because he is able to stop any human's gun from working for a short period so he and the rest of the scouting team can get away.

Dorian could only scream as he watched his best friends Artie and Torpid being shot to death by the Friends of Humanity (FOH); he didn't have the courage to try and stop their murders from happening. Dorian then saw their murderers riddle their already dead bodies with more bullets. He was then forced to watch his hero, Evan, being ripped to shreds by lasers that cut through his armor, and he was then decapitated. Dorian was frozen in place; these gruesome images replayed in front of his eyes over and over, causing his body to become more and more numb. Dorian couldn't bring himself to help; he couldn't blink as watched the massacre in front of his eyes happen again and again.

The image then switched to Dorian's laughing maniacally as he saw himself negating the mutant abilities of his fellow Morlocks, despite their pleas of how they were his family. He then got his hands on a laser gun and began shooting the Morlocks, one by one. He ignored their pleas for mercy, and his laughing rose to an insane pitch. He then saw himself laughing even more as he shot his hero and idol Evan in the chest, then personally decapitated the spiked mutant, his head rolling off of the edge of the land and into the grimy water that floated through the Morlocks' home.

In hallway #9 Artie Maddicks, a young Morlock like Dorian, was screaming in pain as he felt the poison he usually spat out begin to burn some of his tissue, as he was unable to sweat or spit it out. Artie is 20 years old and is Dorian's best friend. He is about 5 feet 2 inches tall, with light brown hair, black eyes, and pale white skin that is made up of scales. Artie is originally from Albany, New York, and came into the Morlocks a few years ago when he hopped a freight train to escape those whom he called his "family". Evan found him, and since then he has been a valued member of the Morlock community.

Artie, like Dorian, is shy with people he's just met, but he warms up quickly, and will talk up a storm, using both telepathic thoughts and hand gestures. Artie's unable to talk because of his mutation, and so he's found alternate ways to communicate: by thought and with sign language. He, Dorian, and Torpid, hang out all the time, and are like their own group of friends.

Artie's mutation is that of being able to slither like a snake, as seen by his black fork-tipped tongue, white scaly skin, and his ability to move along the floor with unmatched silence. Artie's also able to spit out black poison that can burn through any substance, even flesh, and is constantly emitting it through his sweat pores.

Artie's lack of speech comes from his tongue and the poison that can be emitted at any moment without warning. Artie is sometimes unable to touch because of the poison, but knows that sometime he will be able touch and talk again like he used to be able to. He is also able to project illusions and communicate telepathically. ((Artie is one of my favorite minor characters, so I decided to give him some brand-new abilities)).

His uniform/ordinary clothes are that of light khaki pants, a black turtleneck that is worn and has holes in it, a black jacket, and light brown shoes, all of which help him to not let any of the poison touch anyone by accident.

Artie is one of the protectors of the Morlocks like Evan, and is one of them because of his ability to spit poison at an enemy. He often burns the enemy's guns before they are even fired off, and has saved many a Morlock's life because of this.

Artie was screaming as he saw his parents' beating of him when he was younger, and how he accidentally poisoned his father when he was beaten with a belt by emitting it from his skin. Artie tried to apologize, but they didn't listen, and he ran. He hopped a freight train, forever unable to go back to his family again. This time, however, he was unable to escape as the train never left the station. Artie tried to convince the engineer to move the damn train and get them out of the situation but before the engineer could even begin to prep the train to move the mob caught him. The mob pulled him off of the train and dragged him through the town, mocking him, and finally burning him at the stake.

Another image came into his mind that frightened him even more: he saw his hero, Evan, and his best friends Torpid and Dorian being captured by the Friends of Humanity. Artie tried to help them; to free them from captivity, but when he tried to help he saw them shot before his very eyes. Even Evan's armor, thick as it was, didn't stop his death or Dorian's powers from stopping the lasers from killing them, leaving gaping holes in their heads and chests. Artie then tried to run, to warn the other Morlocks about the oncoming danger, but was shot down with a laser in the back of the head, falling facedown on the hard, cold steel floor of the containment center.

Kurt was screaming, cursing in German randomly, as his tail went back and forth at a furious pace as he tried to rid his mind of the images that had taken root there. Kurt could smell the smoke that was coming from the fire at the foot of the stake his hometown in the German Alps. They were trying to burn him to death for looking like a demon and for being a "witch", even though he was a pious Catholic. However, unlike what had really taken place Kurt couldn't manage to teleport himself free from the ring of fire that now surrounded him. Kurt screamed as the flames licked at him without end and slowly let him burn to death.

He then saw himself and Amanda on a date at one of the only restaurants in New York that would allow mutants to be their customers. Kurt and Amanda were having a great time- they were by themselves, there was no one else there to bother them, and Amanda's parents had finally accepted Kurt as Amanda's love interest. Just as Kurt was about to ask Amanda to marry him he saw Erik come flying in the front doors and directly to their table. Erik kidnapped Amanda and flew out of the restaurant with her. Kurt ran after her, and froze as he realized that Erik was planning to kill Amanda to get to him. Kurt teleported to where he felt Amanda was; her aura radiating distress, fear, and shock. When Kurt got to where Amanda's aura was situated he was greeted with her lifeless body, a metal stake going straight through her chest and into her heart. Kurt broke down crying immediately, not caring who saw him or happened next.

In hallway #10, Sam clutched his head as he struggled to not show how much he was hurting, but failed when a scream escaped his lips. He saw his family being cornered in the barn on their farm, and even though his sister Paige was there, her mutation did nothing to help them. Sam was cannonballing there as fast as he was able to, but as he approached the farm, he heard screaming. He panicked and sped up, but when he got there he saw it was too late; the barn had been burned to the ground and even though he saw his sister in the form of a rock, he knew instinctively that she was dead. He was the only one left standing; the one who had to bury them on their farm. He fell to his knees and cried.

He then saw himself and Tabitha at the mall, where he was being a gentleman and carrying her bags. He was just going to ask her on a date when Sabretooth burst through a wall and ran towards Tabitha. Sam tried to knock him away but failed when he saw Sabretooth slash Tabitha's chest and then rip out her heart, right in front of him. The feral mutant then left, after having thrown Tabby's torn up heart on the tiled floor of the mall, laughing as Sam tried to keep the tears in, but was unable to as he saw one of his best-friends and girlfriend die in front of his eyes.

Tabitha screamed as she saw her father- whom she considered insane- appear before her eyes and demand her to steal a million dollars from the Bayville Bank. When she refused she was told that she had to do it or he would kill everyone at the Institute, and especially torture her boyfriend Sam while she would be forced to watch. Tabby agreed, but when she brought the money to her father he merely smirked and pressed a button on a controller he took out of his jacket pocket. Tabby then heard an explosion and spun around, watching as the Institute blew up in a column of black smoke. Tabby collapsed to her knees, crying as she realized that her whole family at the mansion was now gone, and she would be forced to live with her insane father once more; this time with no chance of escaping.

Tabitha then saw herself hanging out with the Brotherhood and Acolytes, Sam having been gracious enough to accompany her. She then heard a metal whirring outside, and the mutants inside tensed up. Before they could run or even prepare for battle Tabby saw a dozen metal stakes fly through the window and strike all her friends- past and present- dead on the spot. She felt tears well up at the sight of their corpses, and then saw Sam step in front of her as he took a stake that had been meant for her. He fell backwards and Tabby caught him, falling to her knees because of the weight of Sam's body. Tabby let the tears fall down her face for all those who now lay dead. She then felt herself get hit and knew she was going to join her friends.

In hallway #11, Ray desperately clutched his head to drown out the images he was seeing, but screamed when he saw those he considered his family at the mansion at a reunion five years in the future. As Ray was talking with Amara he heard a whirring sound and looked up into the clear blue sky, where he saw a dark shape approaching. A Sentinel was approaching, and although all the mutants present at the mansion attacked they were all killed by the combination of a deflection shield and laser guns. When the robot finally fell, Ray saw himself to be the only one left alive, the bodies of all his friends and family on the front lawn of the mansion. Ray fell to his knees and punched the ground, letting tears fall to the ground, adding to the guilt he felt at not having helped the Morlocks when they were attacked years ago. Ray felt himself to be a coward; this was something that would never leave him; not as long as he lived.

He then saw himself and Amara out on a date, which he considered strange, as they had never really talked much after he started seeing Tabitha a while back. Just as Ray was about to lean in for a kiss from the Nova Roman princess he saw Pyro burn through the movie screen at the cinema and head straight for Amara. Ray tried to protect her but was knocked aside by John's flame creatures, and could only watch helplessly as Amara was carried away by the maniac Australian. He found her body hours later, battered and broken, in front of the Institute's gates. He broke down and cried, not caring who saw him.

Lexie was desperately trying to get rid of the feeling needles put into her, rendering her unconscious. She saw herself back at the now rebuilt base of HYDRA. She felt all her memories of her new life, her friends, her father, and boyfriend being erased from her mind. When the brainwashing was done Lexie was sent to kill all the people who had meant so much to her, and kill them she did. No emotion showed on her face as she carried out her assigned task, killing each person one by one.

Lexie then saw herself on a date with Pietro, a moonlight picnic in the park. Just as he was about to propose to her both Erik and Logan burst onto the scene from their hiding places in the bushes around the two young adults and attack them. Lexie felt herself being twisted about by Erik because of the metal coating her bones, and saw Pietro being gored by her father. When they left Lexie crawled over to her now dead boyfriend, and cried when she saw the beautiful diamond engagement ring she had been about to accept lying, now covered in his blood, in his outstretched left hand.

In hallway #12, Warren Worthington III, his dark blue skin sweating profusely as he desperately tried to rid himself of his nightmares. He uses his alias, ArchAngel, to try and promote good human-mutant relations, although he knows it was much easier when he had his white, angelic wings and not his metal wings that he had now. His shoulder-length bright hair hung tangled around his shoulders and his normally bright blue eyes were glazed over with pain and sleep-deprivation. He had not been able to sleep for three days; not since he had been captured while stretching his wings over the New York City skyline.

Warren saw himself being shot at as he tried to escape the FOH, who were flying helicopters, in the sky when they ambushed him while he was over the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. He felt his wings become useless as he was hit between the shoulder blades, and then Warren began a nosedive towards the earth below. He tried to pull up numerous times but no matter how hard he tried he was unable to. Warren soon heard himself make impact with the hard ground below him and then he remembered no more.

Warren then saw himself on a date with his current girlfriend Betsy Braddock at a ritzy nightclub in London. Just as he was about to ask her to dance Erik came in through the walls and, laughing maniacally, took a metal table off of where it was bolted on the floor and threw it at the two mutants. Warren got out of the way in time, but the gigantic table crushed Betsy. Warren yelled her name and ran over to her, throwing the table off her. Warren choked up when he saw her mangled and dead body. Warren's eyes filled with anger and he took off after Erik, dodging all the magnetic waves sent his way. However, he couldn't dodge them all and ended up being sent on a one-way-ticket to the bottom of the Thames River, tied to a metal statue that Erik had had the courtesy to give him as a present.

Rex desperately tried to push the images out of his head, but was unable to as he saw his two best drawings of mythic dragons come to life without his permission. They consequently began to burn his native country, and despite all his demands to heed they refused to obey. They finally came to his family, and even though Rex managed to get one dragon back into its drawing the other one left burned his family to a crisp. Rex fell to his knees in shock, too paralyzed to notice the flames coming towards him.

Rex then saw himself approaching Tyne, in hopes of asking her out on a date, when he saw Devon beat him to it. Rex was left stupefied when Tyne said yes, and dejectedly watched them walk away, hand-in-hand. When he confronted Devon later, they began to fight over Tyne, who was trying to stop the fight from the sidelines. One of Rex's drawings got out of control and attacked Tyne, leaving her hurt. Rex was so mortified that he hurt someone he had feelings for and ran away from the Institute and never came back.

Hallway #13 found Roberto yelling as he saw his family in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil openly revealing that he was a mutant to the media. His face was plastered all over the newspapers, and when interviewed Roberto lost his temper. He shifted into his solar form and shot solar beams from his hands, killing the reporters there and consequently his father, whom he knew had done the whole thing to spite him for abandoning the family path of becoming a stock investor to become a famous soccer player.

Roberto then saw himself kissing Rahne after she had accepted his marriage proposal in the woods of the Institute when the wolves keeping guard over the couple howled a warning. Both adults were on their feet in minutes, and they rushed to see the problem. They found themselves face to face with a Sentinel, and they attacked. Roberto was knocked to the ground, and heard Rahne scream. He got up and saw her being attacked with laser beams coming from the robot's eyes. Roberto took to the air and rammed into the machine with all his strength, felling it to the ground. He then rushed to Rahne, and held her as she died in his arms, wearing the engagement ring he had bought for her and just moments before placed on her left ring finger, tears falling from his eyes.

Betsy Braddock was screaming in horror as she kept reliving images she had been seeing for the past three days, her waist-length, dark purple hair falling in a tangled mess around her shoulders, out of its customary braid. Her usually bright amethyst eyes now a glazed maroon and her light red, jagged scar shining brightly from the top of her left eye to the edge of her chin because of the amount of psychic energy Betsy was unknowingly releasing.

Betsy screamed at the top of her lungs on seeing the Muir Island Research Facility under attack. Betsy rushed out to try and save the younger mutants, but was roughly pushed aside by a Sentinel. She landed on her left leg and heard a sickening 'crunch' emanate from it. She tried to stand on it but fell back to her knees. She saw the sun overhead and her shadow appeared behind her. She closed her eyes and traveled through the shadows, ending up on top of the Sentinel. Betsy formed a handful of her psychic knives, and just as she was about to ram them into the robot its head turned 180 degrees, causing Betsy to lose what little balance she had and fall off the Sentinel's head and shot her with lasers. Betsy flew through the air and off the cliff the research facility was on and crashed into the jagged rocks hidden beneath the ocean's surface.

The image then switched to a date between her and Warren in London on New Year's Eve. Warren and Betsy were slow dancing along with other couples, and then they kissed. When they broke apart, Warren got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Just as Betsy was about to say yes gunshots were heard outside. Everyone rushed outside and the FOH was there, shooting lasers and bullets like there was no tomorrow. When they were done the FOH drove away and only Betsy was left standing, while everyone else was dead on the ground. Betsy fell to her knees and cried on the chest of the now dead Warren, the ring he had been planning to give her in his right hand.


	33. Safe Landing, Invisibility, and Sickness

**Disclaimer: **Hey, I just found out about that contest that I entered to gain control over X-Men a while back… it says that Stan Lee won… I swear, he must have rigged the contest….

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 32: Safe Landing, Invisibility, and Sickness**

_** Blackbird, En Route to Asteroid Evolution- May 16, 3:00 PM**_

A couple of hours later, Lance and Kitty heard a beeping sound coming from the control panel. Kitty woke up out of the light sleep she'd been in and checked the panel. She woke up Lance, who was dozing in his chair, and told him, "Well, according to the radar, we're only a few miles from Asteroid Evolution, but there's a problem: there's no way we can get in without getting spotted."

"You're serious!" asked Lance, now fully awake as he digested Kitty's words, realizing that they may not be able to get onto the asteroid and save their friends and the world. "Isn't there something on this damn ship that will help us get on safely?"

"Well…" said Kitty as she quickly searched the ship's systems for any kind of device that would help them. "Got it! It says here that the _Blackbird _is equipped with a cloaking device, along with the ability to take itself off any radar in the area. Get ready for some turbulence!"

"Goody…" muttered Lance as he dug his claws once more into his seat in a vain attempt to keep himself from becoming sick.

"Woohoo!" screamed Kitty as she took the ship off autopilot, engaged the cloaking device and its ability to take itself off any kind of radar and put the ship's thrusters to maximum power. The ship shot towards its destination at the speed of a cannonball launched from a cannon, and Lance could feel the bile begin to rise in his throat.

After a few minutes, Kitty shut the thrusters off and gently brought the ship to the ground, making sure to keep the cloaking device on. She then shut the ship off, leaving the ship's abilities of cloaking and taking itself off radar-detection systems on through the use of the plane's batteries. She got out of her seat and began walking to the door of the ship. Just as she was about to open the hatch she felt Lance speed past her and towards the bathroom on board. Kitty heard him hurling and mentally checked herself for flying so fast.

"You okay?" she asked softly as she came upon Lance hurling his stomach into the toilet.

"Yeah, I think so," grimaced Lance as he once more felt bile in his throat and hurled once more. He felt Kitty gently rubbing his back. After a few moments, Lance got up and washed out his mouth. He then flushed the toilet's contents away from sight and weakly smiled at Kitty.

"I'm fine but Kitty, do me one favor," Lance commented as he began to walk towards the hatch.

"What?" she asked as she walked beside him.

"Never, ever fly this ship that fast again; please," said Lance as he closed his eyes and shuddered as he thought about having to experience speeds like that again.

When the two reached the hatch Kitty pressed a button on the wall and the door slowly began to open. When it was almost open, Lance suddenly lunged past Kitty and slammed the button to close the door. The door closed, and Kitty tried to reopen the door but failed to do so as Lance kept his left claw firmly on the door.

"Lance, what was that for?' demanded Kitty indignantly as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at Lance.

Lance put up his right claw to show that he was serious about his action, and then after a moment said, "Kitty, the reason I did that was because I think that before we leave the ship, and we need to make ourselves invisible. That way, no one will be able to see us and we can move about the complex with more stealth and without fear of being seen. You agree with me?"

After a moment of thought, Kitty folded her arms across her chest and said, "Yeah, I guess you're right." After a moment she said, "But Lance, how we will keep in touch? I mean, if we're both invisible, does that mean that we can still see each other, or can we not see each other, or what?"

"Well," said Lance as he removed his claw from the button and folded his arms as well. After a moment of thinking he snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "Got it! We'll use our telepathy to keep in touch with other, and we'll travel together, so we have less chance of being caught separately. That okay with you?"

Lance looked to Kitty for confirmation. At her nod, he closed his eyes and concentrated on becoming invisible. When he opened them again, he saw Kitty looking at the area he had been standing in only a minute before with a shocked look on her face, as if saying 'Where did he go?'

Lance smirked, and then concentrated on contacting Kitty telepathically.

'_Kitty? You reading me?'_ asked Lance.

'_Yeah, I'm reading you. So, you turned invisible all right?" _asked Kitty as she closed her eyes so that she could see a mental image of Lance in her head, feeling Lance do the same.

'_Yep, 100 successful. Why don't you try?" _said Lance.

'_Okay,'_ said Kitty as she concentrated, and then a moment later excitedly projected into Lance's head _'Lance! I, like did it! I'm invisible!'_

'_Good work,' _said Lance as he smiled at Kitty's reaction to being able to turn invisible. _'Ready to move out Kitty-Kat?'_ asked Lance as he opened his eyes and indeed, he was now able to see Kitty as they were both invisible, and knew she was there because they still had their mental link, so he knew where she was, and vice-versa.

'_Yep, Shaker. Let's go,'_ said Kitty as she opened her eyes and smirked at the nickname she had given Lance. She knew he wasn't too fond of it, but that deep down he liked it.

"Alright, let's go," said Lance from beside Kitty. As the hatch opened, they both stepped out, and were surprised to see Fred, Todd, Leon, and Opal patrolling the landing area, making sure nothing or no one got in or out without their seeing it. All four of them were wearing specially made armor that would let them breathe in the vacuum of space. Since Lance and Kitty had a healing factor they didn't need such gear. They could hear the four mutants talking about random things as Kitty telekinetically closed the door.

"Man, this sucks yo. Why couldn't Magneto have put me with Wanda in checking the cells over 'stead of that insane Pyro?" muttered Todd as he hopped around the landing area, every now and then breaking into a walk. Leon looked over from where he was patrolling as a bat, and sighed. Just as he was about to change back into his human form to go and comfort his hero his senses picked up movement. Leon's eyes swiveled from looking at Todd to space to where he sensed the movement. Leon quickly flew over towards the area from whence he had heard noise, which caught Fred's attention.

"What's wrong, Leon?" asked Fred as he followed Leon's movements. Suddenly, Fred's eyes noticed something… or someone… moving around. Fred rubbed his eyes in an attempt to make sure he wasn't seeing things… he really hadn't seen a green tail or a purple wing… had he? Fred blinked once more and began walking over to where he had thought he'd seen the body parts.

"Shit…" muttered Lance as he and Kitty saw both Leon and Fred coming towards them. He and Kitty immediately sped away and spilt up, but because they were not looking where they were going Lance ran into Todd and Kitty into Opal.

"Yo, what in the hell just hit me, eh?" exclaimed Todd as he was forced onto his back, and Opal yelled, "Alright, whoever just ran into me is going to pay!" Opal began to shoot bullets of all materials out of her fingers, and Fred and Leon were forced to dodge them.

"Watch where you're aiming those things," exclaimed Leon as he shifted back into his human form and began to dodge them more slowly than he had been doing as a bat. Todd was spitting slime all around him in an attempt to trap whoever had hit him but wasn't really paying attention to where he was aiming and accidentally spit on Opal, who screamed as she felt the sticky substance blind her.

"You jerk! Watch where in the hell you aim this disgusting material!" Opal screamed as she desperately tried to get the substance off her so she could see and get revenge on Todd. She began shooting bullets out of her left hand while her right tried to get the slime off. The bullets flew in every direction and went towards Leon, who was too distracted with trying to get to Todd to help him to notice the bullets heading his way. Fred, however, did notice and stepped in front of the younger mutant and took the bullets, smirking as they bounced off him.

After a few moments of havoc Lance and Kitty managed to dodge the bullets and make it to the entrance to the complex and stopped, leaning up against the wall to catch their breath.

"My god, I didn't know Leon could sense us," muttered Kitty as she threw a glare at Lance, who smiled sheepishly at her.

"Heh, guess I forgot to mention that when I filled you in on our two new recruits and their powers," replied Lance as he put a hand behind his head and kept his sheepish smile on his face.

Kitty merely sighed and turned around to begin entering the complex but caught her breath when she found herself staring into the sapphire eyes of one Erik Lensherr.


	34. Betrayal by Someone you Trusted

**Disclaimer: **I've decided to take action! I'm going to march into Stan Lee's office to gain control over _X-Men: Evolution_; even if I die trying!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 33: Betrayal by Someone you Trusted**

_** Landing Area, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 3:25 PM**_

Kitty quickly stepped back and sped to hide behind Lance, who had positioned himself in such a way that he would be ready to fight if he had to. Erik took no notice of them (as they were invisible) and walked towards the four Brotherhood members.

The Brotherhood members quickly stopped their bickering and immediately stood to attention. Erik strode in front of them, looking at them each in return. He stopped in front of Opal, whose look said, 'I'm not afraid,' but really said, 'What's he going to do?'

Erik said, "My dear Shot, whatever set you off just now?" He stared into her gray eyes, probing their depths for anything that would signify a betrayal.

"Umm…" began Opal but faltered when Erik's stare intensified. She quickly glanced to Leon for help, to which he vehemently nodded no.

Erik noticed the exchange and his attention focused on Leon instead of Opal. His sapphire eyes glittered dangerously, striking fear into the young mutant's soul. This was the only way to find out the truth, as his telepathy was useless thanks to the special gear the mutants wore. It protected them from psychic attacks.

"Aussie. Tell me why Miss Key looked to you for an answer. The exchanged between you two leads me to believe that this was your fault."

"Well sir… I mean, I, I, … well," stuttered Leon as he tried to concentrate on giving an understandable answer, but faltered at Erik's stare.

"Go on," prompted Erik, his eyes becoming brighter, seeming as if they were boring into Leon, searching for the answers he was seeking.

"Well, I was patrolling as a bat and then I sensed something and went to see. Then, something ran into both Todd and Opal," began Leon but shrunk a bit when Erik's eyes narrowed at the usage of real names instead of codenames, and corrected himself. "I mean, Toad and Shot. They began to attack the area around them in an attempt to hit whatever had hit them, and Shot's bullets began to fly all over the place when Toad accidentally slimed her. Then, some bullets came towards me, and since I wasn't paying attention, Fred, er rather Blob, stepped in front of me and took the hits. Then, well, you came in, Magneto, sir."

"I see," said Erik as he took his eyes off Leon, who silently breathed a sigh of relief. Erik then walked to stop in front of Todd, who was desperately trying to keep his eyes on Magneto's but kept glancing to the ground.

"Toad!" barked Erik as he glared at the man in front of him. Todd looked up at the sound of his name and this time managed to keep his eyes glued to Erik's. Erik continued, "You of all people should know to be careful where to aim that slime. Remember when you 'accidentally' slimed me?"

Todd shuddered as he remembered when some of his slime had accidentally gotten on Magneto's uniform. Erik's revenge: injuring him so badly that Todd had been unable to work for a few weeks, along with having five training sessions a day, most with Sabretooth.

"As punishment, you will be taken to a cell and be forced to suffer like all my other prisoners," continued Erik as his eyes glittered dangerously. He used his powers, and because Todd still had the metal ring around his neck he was lifted in the air. Erik began to walk back towards the entrance, but stopped, Todd stopping with him.

"On second thought," said Erik as he turned around and looked at the other three mutants still lined up, "all of you will be punished. Come with me!" Erik flung his left arm at the other three mutants (as the right arm held Todd) and because of the gear they wore, which contained metal, they flew to where Todd was being held. Erik switched Opal and Leon to his right arm as Fred took all of the power in his left arm to lift. Erik once more walked towards the entrance, this time with the mutants behind him. As the doors to the complex opened Lance and Kitty, who had witnessed the whole thing, sped in behind Erik before the door closed. It was time they free their friends and fulfill their destiny.


	35. Meeting with Wanda and John, Part 1:

**Disclaimer: **I just got back from my plans to take over _X-Men: Evolution_; what can I say? I failed shamefully and I have to go now and brood; come up with a new plan…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 34: Meeting with Wanda and John, Part 1: Random Incidents **

_**Hallways, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 4:00 PM**_

As Lance and Kitty raced through the hallways of Asteroid Evolution, they used their super-speed, x-ray vision, and periodically their wings to move through the complex more quickly, but at the same time using their x-ray vision to look through the walls of and search the numerous hallways they raced through. After about an hour of searching, Kitty was about to give up when she ran into Lance, who had suddenly stopped. She fell to the ground in a heap, and asked, _'Lance, why did you, like, stop?'_

'_I stopped because Wanda and John are dead ahead. Look,' _replied Lance as he looked ahead, and Kitty, once she had gotten back on her feet, looked over his shoulder, hovering a bit in the air with her wings. Indeed, Wanda and John were ahead of them.

'_Wait, something's not right…' _said Kitty as looked at their backs.

'_What do you mean?' _asked Lance as he looked at them walking towards a metal door at the end of the hallway. _'I don't see anything wrong.'_

'_It's not how they look that's wrong; it's how Wanda is acting. She's acting… well, almost like she is flirting with John,' _said Kitty as she silently landed next to him, folding her wings across her chest in the process.

'_You're serious?' _asked Lance incredulously as his head swiveled back to get confirmation of what Kitty had just said. He then turned to face his two teammates. '_Wanda is…**flirting**! Is that even possible?'_

'_Obviously, it is,' _responded Kitty as she watched Wanda and John chat amiably together, unaware they had an audience. _'I think Wanda likes him. Otherwise, she would probably be hexing him into the wall right now,' _added Kitty as an afterthought.

'_I think you're right,' _said Lance as he watched Wanda laugh at something John had said. _'She must be head over heels for him, because she's laughing,'_ said Lance as he folded his arms across his chest in thought. He then grinned and asked Kitty, _'Kitty, feel like doing some spying?'_

Kitty smiled at this, and responded, _'Most definitely; let's go!'_ With this thought, the two of them followed Wanda and John at a safe distance, making sure to not get too close to them in case Wanda was able to sense them. They watched as Wanda and John went through a door at the end of the hallway, and Kitty grabbed Lance's hand and phased them through.

Once through, they were shocked to find it was another hallway, but instead of its just having the wall and one door at either end, it was a hallway with 2 fairly large cells, 1 on each side. In each cell was one of the captured mutants, all of which were screaming in pain. Kitty's face went pale beneath her purple skin, and she gasped in shock at hearing her friends' and teammates' screams fill the air.

"Oh my god…" whispered Kitty as she listened to the screams, forgetting entirely about keeping quiet to make sure she and Lance weren't caught. Wanda suddenly whipped around and Kitty covered her mouth to keep herself from gasping again.

"Wot's wrong, shiela?" asked John as he watched Wanda's actions, confusion etched on his face.

"I thought I heard something," responded Wanda as she looked around her, looking for the source of the noise she'd heard. Her hands were glowing blue, and for one of the few times in her life she felt fear.

"Oy didn't hear anythin'," said John as he glanced around a bit uneasily, hoping that Erik wasn't nearby, knowing that he would probably be beheaded by Wanda's father rather then be allowed to date Wanda.

"Something, or someone, is here. I'm sure of it," said Wanda as she slowly backed away from the door that she and John had entered a few moments before. As she was backing up, her hands started to shake with fear at the noise she had heard. She unknowingly backed right into Kitty, who had moved behind her in an attempt to escape the reach of Wanda's hands and powers. Kitty gave a yelp, leapt back, and landed on Lance's foot, causing him to swear. Wanda swung around and fired two hex bolts at the presence she suddenly felt behind her, and was shocked to see that it didn't have any effect.

"What the hell…" muttered Wanda as she stared from her hands to the air before her. She didn't feel or hear John come up behind her until he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me handle this, sheila," said John as he positioned himself so that he was in front of Wanda. He pulled his goggles down over his eyes and fired a flame at the space. He manipulated it to form a circle around the space that coincidentally held Lance and Kitty. After a few minutes, he cut the flame and stared at the space, expecting to see something, but was shocked to see nothing there.

"I agree with you, Wanda. Wot in the hell is goin' on…" muttered a shocked John as he pushed his goggles back onto his hair and stared at the blank space. On turning to look at Wanda, he saw that she was just as confused as he was at the situation.

'_Kitty, I think we'd better reveal ourselves,' _said Lance as he looked from the confused look on John's face to the equally puzzled one of Wanda's.

'_Let's,'_ said Kitty, and she and Lance concentrated on shutting off their invisibility. A few moments later, they materialized in front of John and Wanda, whose faces changed from confusion to fear to shock to recognition and finally to disbelief.

"Kitty… is that you?" asked Wanda softly as she stepped forward and stopped, too shocked at the gargoyle whom she knew as Kitty Pryde and her friend in front of her.

Kitty gave a sigh, knowing Wanda's cautiousness was due to her look, and said, "Yeah, Wanda, it's me."

"What happened?" asked Wanda as she looked at Kitty's folded wings and her tail, which was flicking back and forth behind her.

"Lance, mate, is that you?" asked John in shock as he looked from Lance's scaly green skin to his uniform, which was basically the same in most respects to his Brotherhood uniform except for the fact that he recognized the symbol of the X-Men.

"Yeah, John, it's me," said Lance as calmly as he could, trying to hide his frustration. His tail, however, didn't hide what he felt as it was going back and forth like crazy, but Lance paid it no heed. He was listening to Kitty tell Wanda and John what had happened to make them both the way they were at the moment, and at the same time thinking about how to tell Wanda and John that they were two of the eight keys needed to defeat Apocalypse once and for all.

He was brought out of his thoughts by John, who said, "Ah, mate, your, uh, tail is swishin' back an' forth like the foyre when Oy pass it back and forth between moy hands."

"Huh?" asked Lance as he stared at John, wondering if he was crazy, but knowing that he was. He was surprised, however, when Wanda covered her face with her hands, sighed, took her hands off her face and smacked John across the head, causing him to swear.

"Ow, sheila, wot was that for?" John asked Wanda, glaring at her as he rubbed his head, and on seeing her glare right back whimpered a bit.

Wanda merely rolled her eyes, crossed her arms across her chest, and said, "John, you idiot, it was because you were acting stupid and idiotic again."

"But sheila, I thought that was wot you liked 'bout me," said John as he stopped rubbing his head and looked at Wanda with his blue eyes.

"Well, I… I mean, that… well…" stuttered Wanda as she uncrossed her arms as she tried to regain her composure and stop herself from blushing at the same time.

"Yeah, Wanda, what is with you and John?" asked Kitty wickedly as she grinned like the cat that ate the canary. Lance saw the look on his girlfriend's face and sighed, knowing what was next. He slowly backed up, and, racing behind John pulled him away from Wanda.

"Nothing is going on between me and John!" screamed Wanda as she threw a hex bolt at Kitty, but stared in open-mouthed shock as Kitty moved at a speed that equaled Pietro's and stopped to Wanda's right.

"Kitty, how did you do that?" asked Wanda, as she shut her mouth, put her hand back at her side, and turned to face Kitty, disbelief etched on her face.

"Well, super speed's one of the many new powers that Lance and I have now," said Kitty as her grin faded a bit at having to think how she and Lance were stuck permanently in their gargoyle forms.

John turned to look at Lance, realizing that he had just been saved from possibly getting hit from one of Wanda's hex bolts. He grinned at Lance, walked to stand beside a still shocked Wanda, and turned to face Lance and Kitty.

"You mean that both you and Lance have these super-awesome powers now, sheila?" asked John as he looked back and forth from Kitty to Lance, and noticing Lance's face darken yelped and hid behind Wanda. She sighed and stepped to the left, leaving John open for attack in case Lance decided to attack him for something he had said or done.

"Yeah, that's right," said Lance as he stared at John and sent him a thought: _'John, if you ever call my girlfriend "sheila" again, you will be in for a hell of a lot of hurt.'_

John yelped as he held his head, nodded quickly at Lance, and tried once more to hide behind Wanda, who sighed again but this time just stayed in front of him.

'_Lance, relax. "Sheila" just means "girl" in Australian; nothing more,' _said Kitty as she relayed what Lance had said to John to Wanda, who was looking highly amused now that she understood the situation at hand.

"Sorry 'bout that, John. Guess I got jealous," said Lance as he sheepishly stuck his hands in his pockets.

"That's okay, mate. Just remind me to not get on your bad side again, 'kay?" John replied with a grin that to some may have looked a bit psychotic on his face as he came out from behind Wanda and stepped towards Lance, holding out his hand in both apology for his words and friendship. Lance took it, careful to make sure his claws were dull, and the men shook hands. Lance caught John staring at his hand, and quickly pulled it back and hid it in his pocket. He ignored the surprised looks of both Wanda and John, but Kitty flashed him a sympathetic look.

"Now Wanda, what is with you and John?" Kitty asked as she turned her attention to her gothic friend and grinned her "Cheshire Cat" grin once more, looking at Wanda expectantly.

Wanda sighed, knowing that she could not escape Kitty's interrogation anymore, and said, "All right, listen to what I say, because I swear that I'm only telling this one time, got it?" At Kitty's eager nod, and a reluctant one from Lance, Wanda sighed and began to explain how she and John had hooked up.


	36. Meeting with Wanda and John, Part 2:

**Disclaimer:** … I'm too depressed to do anything but sit here and draw circles in the sand until I come up with a plan…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 35: Meeting with Wanda and John, Part 2: Flashback, Part 1**

_** Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 10:00 AM**_

FLASHBACK

"Wanda, I want you and St. John to first go to the infirmary and patch yourselves up and then go prepare the cells in hallway #5 for the prisoners. The rest of you, meanwhile, will take our prisoners to their individual cells, as the other 28 hallways are ready, then go heal yourselves," commanded Erik as he, the Brotherhood, and Acolytes got out of the metal pods they had traveled in.

Erik had prepared 29 separate hallways scattered throughout the complex of Asteroid Evolution, each with 2 cells in them, except for some with either three cells or only one. The reason was that this way the captured mutants would have no way of escaping their cells and mounting a huge attack aimed at both escape from Asteroid Evolution and revenge. Even if they managed to escape their mutation inhibitor devices they wouldn't be able to escape the hallway, as each one was built especially with the mutants it would hold in mind.

"Whatever," muttered Wanda as she turned on her heel and marched out of the landing area and towards the infirmary, located near hallway #16. She didn't bother to see if her 'partner' St. John was following her. St. John, meanwhile, mock-saluted Erik and walked after Wanda, whistling and clicking his lighter as he went.

"You-sure-that's-a-good-idea?" asked Pietro in his 'Quicksilver' voice, in which he strings all of his words together so they sound all jumbled and messed up. The only people who can understand him is all of the Brotherhood—excluding Raven—, all the Acolytes—excluding Jason—, and Lexie.

"If you mean placing Wanda and St. John together, then yes, it is, and Pietro, do you know why?" Erik asked as he took off his helmet, letting his white hair show. He then tucked his helmet under his arm and looked at his son. "The reason is because St. John is too stupid to try anything with Wanda, and even if he does try something, Wanda will deal with it like she deals with Toad."

Pietro shrugged and watched as his father used his powers to lift the four cages with the unconscious mutants in them into the complex and into a large room where they would be sorted into their respective hallways.

_**Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 10:30 AM**_

Meanwhile, Wanda had finished bandaging herself in the infirmary and entered hallway #5. She was checking to make sure both Jean and Ororo's cells were equipped with each X-Man's weakness. At the moment she was checking Jean's cell to make sure it was filled with twenty speakers. These speakers would project many voices at once, ensuring that Jean would be in pain from all of the voices mixing together in her mind, and no matter how hard she would try she wouldn't be able sort them out.

As Wanda worked she felt a hand touch her shoulder and, thinking it was Todd, used her powers and flung him into the cell across the hall, which just happened to be Ororo's cell. Since Ororo was extremely claustrophobic, the cell was smaller than the other one in the hallway and was covered in stone, the walls completely black. If Ororo managed to break free of her mutation inhibitor device, she would be unable to do anything because it would appear that the walls were closing in on her and she would buckle under her fear of enclosed spaces.

"Toad, what did I tell you about coming within a foot of me, you filthy little creature?" screamed Wanda as she turned away from Jean's cell. She turned to look behind her, expecting to see Todd grinning at her stupidly, as if to say her hexing was a token of her affection for her. However, she was surprised to see a slightly dazed and cut up John.

"Oh my god; John, are you all right?" asked Wanda worriedly. 'Damn, why do I sound so worried about him all of a sudden? I mean, it's not like I'm in love with him, or anything, right? I've barely talked to him more than two times a week, or whenever he and the rest of my father's lackeys have to crash at the Boarding House because their base is wrecked, and yet I feel nervous around him. Why do I feel this way! And why am I keeping count of all the times he and I have talked!'

"Yeah, sheila, Oy'm fine," said John as he slowly got up and began to examine himself. He cursed on discovering that in order to see the extent of his cuts he had to take off his shirt, and proceeded to do just that, after taking off his jetpack and flamethrowers, which, luckily for him, weren't dented or broken in any way; not to mention they were waterproof, as well as ice-proof when the situation arose. He tossed his shirt on the ground and began to examine himself, finding some minor scratches and some blood; overall, nothing major, if one didn't count the headache he was getting. John was too preoccupied with examining himself that he was unaware of Wanda's reaction to her seeing him without a shirt.

Wanda nervously gulped on seeing John without his shirt, and noticed for the first time how muscular he was—for one of her father's lackeys, that is.

"Uh, John?" asked Wanda nervously, cursing herself as she did so.

"Yeah, luv?" asked John as he turned to face her, and on noticing her eyeing his chest appreciatively, blushed a bit and hastily put his shirt back on, followed by his jetpack and flamethrowers.

"Um, John, why do you work for my father?" asked Wanda, her voice now filled with curiosity, her blue eyes searching John's.

"Well, um, Oy joined for the glory and fame that Oy was promised, but soon after Oy got here, Oy found that none of that existed here. Now the only reason Oy'm stayin' is 'cause Oy think moy family's in trouble an' the only way Oy know of savin' them is to continue to work for your dad, sheila," explained John seriously, having switched his voice tone from containing a hint of embarrassment when he rubbed his head where he had hit his head.

After a few minutes, John brought his hands to his side and activated one of his flamethrowers, creating a small flame. He then manipulated it to show a small family portrait, which included a father, mother, an older brother, and a sister, who looked his age and the same as him, possibly his twin. He was in the middle, and for once, he wasn't smiling; he was frowning while the rest of his family was smiling. After a few minutes, he extinguished the flame and turned around to grab his goggles, which were still in the cell meant for Ororo, put them on his hair, and then turned around to face Wanda once more.

"Oh John, I'm so sorry," whispered Wanda as she moved closer to John, lifted her hand, and after hesitating for a moment, placed it gently on his face. John flinched at the contact, but after a moment, he slowly removed her hand with his, brought it to his lips, and laid a small kiss on it, all the while staring into her blue eyes.

"Wanda, we can' do this," said John softly as he continued to hold her hand while looking deep into her sapphire eyes, searching for some sort of understanding.

"Why not?" asked Wanda softly as she gazed into John's ocean-blue eyes, her heart pounding in her chest.

"It's not because Oy don' want to have a relationship with you, but it's because of your dad, sheila. If he ever found out that we… well, that we liked each other… well, crikey, he'd have moy head," said John as he lowered his gaze from her eyes and focused it on the entrance to the hall, as if saying that he feared for his life.

"Fuck Magneto," Wanda replied fiercely, yet softly. This brought John's eyes back to hers now filled with surprise in them. "I mean, come on. Why should he care? He obviously didn't care about me when he put me in that insane asylum when I was six, so why would he care about me now? Besides, John, you are the only person who I feel that I can really trust, apart from Rogue, Kitty, Lance, Lexie, and sometimes my idiotic brother Pietro. Over the past few years every time I saw you, spoke to you, or even heard you, I would tense up and my heart would start beating faster and faster. I didn't know what was happening to me at first, but now I think I know: John, I think I love you," whispered Wanda as she slowly moved closer and closer until she and John were a few inches apart.

John felt his heart speed up as Wanda moved closer and closer to him, and when they were inches apart he whispered, "Wanda, Oy think Oy love you too."

With these words, Wanda and John kissed, and as they did so, static rose in the air around them, with no visible source in sight. As the kiss deepened, the static turned from yellow to the blue of Wanda's powers and small flames began to swirl around with the static and blended. When they finally parted, both of them breathing heavily, the static around them ceased.

"Wot just happened, luv?" asked John huskily as he touched his forehead to Wanda's and looked at her eyes, which, like his, held confusion in them.

"I'm… I'm not sure," whispered Wanda as she looked into John's eyes. "I mean, we kissed and our powers somehow came out on their own and swirled around us, like they had a mind of their own or something. But John, listen to me: I don't care what my father says or does: I love you; I know I do, and I want to be with you. Do you want to be with me?"

"Of course Oy do, luv. But we have to be careful in case your dad gets suspicious…" began John but was stopped when Wanda gently put her fingers to his mouth, and removed them a minute later.

"Well, we'll just pretend to be enemies and not know each other, but when we are able to be alone, we'll be together, and when the time's right, we'll reveal our relationship to those whom we trust. You agree with me?" asked Wanda as she looked at the doorway to the hall and then back at John, hoping he'd agree with the plan.

John smiled and said, "O' course I do, luv. We'll act like we did before this morning, and when we feel it's right, we'll reveal ourselves to the world." John and Wanda were about to kiss again when they heard footsteps coming towards the door. They quickly drew apart and rushed to check the two cells for that hallway, which would contain Jean and Ororo. They heard the footsteps coming from hallway #6, which would contain Callisto and Evan.


	37. Meeting with Wanda and John, Part 3:

**Disclaimer: **Well, my circles in the sand look really snazzy… that is, until the tide comes in…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 36: Meeting with Wanda and John, Part 3: Flashback, Part 2 **

**_Hallway #5, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 65, 10:45 AM_**

Just as Wanda and John finished making sure the cells were operational, the door to the hall opened and Piotr walked in. He saw the scorch marks on the ground from where the static and flames had joined when Wanda and John had kissed, and saw the nervousness with which Wanda and John avoided looking at each other. He surmised that they had finally given in to the feelings that he had been sensing since he and the other Acolytes had moved in with the Brotherhood between John and Wanda, (because of the level of nervousness that he was sensing in the room) but didn't know what to make of the scorch marks. He smiled to himself and knew that they would tell him about their relationship when they were ready.

"Comrades," said Piotr as he walked over to the two mutants and stopped in front of them. "I have orders for you to go and see that Xavier is put into his cell and then return back to here. Understood?" Piotr then shifted into his human form and looked behind them at the 2 cells that stood open and ready to receive their occupants.

"Yes, understood," responded Wanda as bitterly as she could manage, but knew she was unable to stop the nervousness she felt from edging into her voice. 'Damn,' thought Wanda, 'if Colossus finds out about John and me he'll tell my father, and then I'll lose John forever.'

Almost as if he was reading her mind, Piotr said, "Do not worry, Wanda. I know about you and John; in fact, I have been sensing it since we moved into da Brotherhood a few days ago. It comes from my being an artist and how I can sense changes—however small—in people's attitudes that may not be noticeable to others. I will not tell Magneto. You and John should report to your assigned post now or Magneto may get suspicious. Good luck, and congratulations, comrades," finished Piotr as he put out his hand for John to shake, a genuine smile gracing his face.

"Thanks mate. Oy appreciate wot you're doin', and Oy thank you from the bottom of moy heart," said John as he shook Piotr's hand a little too vigorously, causing Wanda to roll her eyes and grab John by the neck of his uniform. She then proceeded to drag him towards the door, muttering under her breath how John was an idiot and asking herself why she even liked him anyway. She suddenly stopped, turned, and flashed Piotr a rare, but genuine, smile.

"Thanks Piotr. You're not as bad as I was led to believe, and thanks again for keeping our secret," said Wanda as she let go of John and walked towards the door, telling John to not show any sign that he liked her at all, because they could not risk getting caught.

As the door closed behind them, Piotr shook his head at them, and thought 'I'm glad that they have found each other, but I wish someone would see how good a guy I am behind my metal façade. Especially Katchya.'

A few minutes later, Jason came in with Jean and Ororo. Piotr stood to attention, as he had been trained by his family to obey all orders given to him by a superior officer, whom he considered to be Jason.

"Are the cages ready?" asked Jason as he kept his attention on keeping the two powerful female mutants under his control, focusing his attention for one moment on Piotr's answer, which was a yes. He then guided Ororo to her cell and waited until she was screaming in pain before moving onto Jean Grey-Summers.

**_Hallways of Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 10:45 AM_**

Wanda and John walked towards hallway #29, which had only one cell in it; that cell belonged to Xavier. As they approached the room, they began their parts, with each of them remaining silent. Each was thinking 'God, I hope he doesn't suspect anything.'

When they opened the door, they saw not an empty room and only Xavier like they'd expected, but found Magneto taking care of Xavier himself. Erik looked up from his work and nodded at them in greeting. This threw Wanda for a loop, as she knew that her father never greeted her with a gesture; he barely noticed her at all, except when he needed her for something. She glanced over at John quickly, and saw he had his "maniacal-laugh" face on, and she congratulated John through the mind link she somehow knew she and he had created not long ago. She snapped to attention as Erik spoke to her and John.

"Ah, daughter… St. John… I have no need for your assistance. You may go and do what you please until I have need of you again. Now leave." Erik glanced down once more at his task, which was placing Xavier into a device that would hurt the telepath whenever he would try to access his powers. He then moved Xavier into a metal cage, and on closing the door walked over to a machine that looked remarkably like Cerebro. After he typed something into it he strode towards the door, grabbing his helmet from the table it had been on and exiting the room. As he passed, he shot daggers at John, and Wanda felt John mentally shiver, and prayed her father wouldn't be able to feel it. She felt a reassuring presence in the back of her mind, telling her that her father was unable to sense the mind link, and would never be able to unless he caught the two of them with their guard down.

When Erik had left, John let out a sigh of relief, and Wanda grinned at him.

"Good job," said Wanda as she threw her arms around his neck, knowing that there was no one around to see them as Xavier still unconscious. John grinned back at her and said, "You too, luv." He then put his hands on her waist and they kissed once more, and although it was shorter than the last one, the same thing happened with their powers, except this time no visible mark was left behind.

As they broke off, they grinned once more at each other, and for once Wanda felt at total peace with herself. She was able to hear herself think clearly, as she wasn't consumed by the anger she usually felt.

A few minutes later, they agreed mentally to go to some of the hallways after getting something to eat in the cafeteria onboard and make fun or sympathize with some of the hostages. They then smirked evilly on the thought at the forefront of their minds: go to hallway #5 and make fun of Jean while she screamed in pain. As they left, Wanda told John mentally that she liked how he acted stupid most of the time when he really wasn't. They chatted amiably; every now and then falling silent to make sure they were not being followed or watched. They ate lunch, went to some of the other hallways, and then went into hallway #5 and met up with Kitty and Lance.

BACK TO PRESENT DAY/TIME


	38. Meeting with Wanda and John, Part 4:

**Disclaimer: **Hey, the tide didn't come in yet! Success! My circles still live!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 37:** **Meeting with Wanda and John, Part 4: Revelations**

**_Hallway #5, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 4:35 PM _**

"Wow, that is so, like, totally romantic!" squealed Kitty when Wanda had finished her story, choosing to ignore how John and Wanda had gone and made fun of her friends. She ran to Wanda and gave the Gothic woman a quick hug, startling Wanda, then pulled back and looked at Wanda happily. "I'm so, like, totally happy for you, and I hope you and John have a great relationship."

Wanda just stood for a moment, still in shock at Kitty's hug, as Kitty had never done it before, and then comprehension dawned and she smiled a small smile and surprised everyone by hugging Kitty back. She whispered, "Thank you so much Kitty. I hope you and Lance stay together this time."

Kitty then hugged back, and the two women stayed this way for a few moments, with Lance and John looking on in confusion. When they broke apart, Lance contacted Kitty mentally.

'_Kitty, I think it's time we tell them,'_ said Lance as he closed his eyes, and sensed Kitty doing the same. At the same time, he could sense Wanda and John watching them with confusion.

'_I think you're right,' _replied Kitty as she agreedand then opened her eyes, sensing Lance do the same. She then took a deep breath, and said, "Wanda, John, there's something Lance and I need to tell you." She paused before continuing. "You both are two of the eight keys needed to defeat Apocalypse for the last time. Wanda, you are the Goddess of Sorcery, and John you're the God of Fire. Ironic, no?"

Kitty grinned sheepishly, and Lance smirked at the looks he saw on his two friends' faces: disbelief, amazement, and confusion. He then started to worry when he saw Wanda clench her fists together and summon her powers.

"You're… you're lying!" screamed Wanda as she raised her hand and pointed at Kitty, "You have to be lying! There is no way in hell that I can be a goddess; I mean, come on, I spent seven years of my life in an insane asylum, for cryin' out loud! So how do you expect me to be some sort of goddess?" Wanda prepared to fire a hex-bolt at Kitty when she felt her John's hand on her shoulder. She heard him say through their mind link, _'Hold on, shelia. Oy think Kitty's right.'_

'_How?' _askedWanda angrily as she stared daggers at John, but he was unaffected and continued to stare down into Wanda's sapphire eyes.

'_Listen, luv, it has to be us. Oy mean, come on, who else has our powers? Not to mention the fact that if we are these divine beings, then that would explain the release of our powers when we kiss. It's our powers joining as one, like gods and goddess would do in the olden days,' _John said as he stared into Wanda's eyes, willing her to believe him.

After a few moments of silence, Wanda replied, _'I guess your right.' _She took the energy she had summoned and willed it back into her body. She then turned to Kitty and said, "Kitty, I'm sorry about that. It's just so hard to believe that I'm a goddess and he's a god." Wanda jerked her thumb at John, who was currently staring at his blowtorch, willing the fire to come out, (not noticing that he had his jetpack turned off) and to his surprise, it did.

"Crikey, wot the hell!" exclaimed John as he looked at the fire, for once not happy on seeing it, and then back to the shocked faces of his friends, realizing that his jetpack was turned off. "Oy can… Oy can create foyre!"

"But… that's not one of your powers, John," Wanda said worriedly as she stared into John's eyes, and saw the confusion and worry in them. They didn't hear Lance come up behind them until he said, "Actually, John, it's not weird at all."

This got both mutants' attention, and as they turned to look at him, John willed the fire to go back into the jetpack, and it did, as that was his original power. "Mate, wot do you mean?" asked John as he looked from the blowtorch on his right wrist to Lance.

"I mean, according to what Kitty and I found out, the God of Fire—you, John—can both create and control fire, along with being able to remember everything that happened in the past, from when humanity began to present-day. You can also transport any number of both things and people by creating a circle of fire and concentrating on where you want to go. You are now also impervious to any kind of damage from any form of precipitation. So, I'm thinking you gained these abilities when you accepted the fact that you are a god; reincarnated, of course," said Lance as he looked from John to the blowtorches on his wrist.

"That's right," Kitty piped up from beside Lance. "Wanda, as the Goddess of Sorcery, you have, along with your original abilities of telepathy, creation of hex-bolts, psychic balls of fury and power, and psychic fields, the abilities to control the amount of each and every hex-bolt or psychic ball of fury you release. You can also fly using your powers, cast spells of all different levels and intensity, have control over all types, levels, and intensities of magic, and the ability to teleport yourself and others by chanting a spell. Also, unlike Kurt, you can take as many people as you want without tiring out."

"Seriously?" asked Wanda as she looked at her hands, which were glowing a light blue and then she felt the power coursing through her veins. She knew then that she truly was a goddess, no matter what anyone else said. She turned to Lance and asked, "Okay, you have four keys, as I assume you and Kitty are two of the eight keys, right?" At Lance's nod, she continued, "Okay, so now what? Why do we have these powers in the first place?"

"Well, it's because Apocalypse is back, and out for revenge. He also wants to turn the whole world into a mutant paradise, but in the process will destroy millions of humans and mutants who are unable to adapt," said John from where he had been standing behind Wanda. The other three mutants looked at him as if he was insane, but he merely grinned and said, "As the God of Fire Oy am expected to know these things, right?" At Lance and Kitty's slow nods he grinned again, proud that he had earned some respect.

After a few moments of silence, Lance said, "All right, now that you two know why Apocalypse is back, we need to find the other four keys, or our fellow gods and goddesses. We also need to release everyone else, mount an attack on Apocalypse, defeat him, and bring peace to the world for however long is possible." Lance looked past Wanda and John to the two cells in the hallway. He then looked back at them and asked, "Are you in?"

Wanda and John blinked at the same time ((couldn't resist…)), looked at each other, turned back to Lance, and nodded yes. Lance and Kitty grinned and began to move towards the two cages. Just as they reached the lock on Ororo's door, they heard footsteps coming towards them.

"Shit," muttered Lance as he looked at the door, "Someone's coming. We need to hide Kitty." Kitty nodded and in thirty seconds the two had turned invisible, leaving Wanda and John to stare at the empty space (or so they thought), thereby letting down their guard and letting Erik Lensherr sneak up on them.


	39. Battle between the Master of Magnetism,

**Disclaimer: **Tide's still not in yet… do you find it interesting that I'm focused on the tide and not gaining ownership of the concept of X-Men?

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 38: Battle between the Master of Magnetism, the God of Fire, and the Goddess of Magic **

_**Hallway #5, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 5:00 PM** _

Meanwhile Magneto was on his way back to hallway #5 to see how his daughter and Pyro were doing on guard duty. Not that he would admit it, but Erik was curious as to how 'well' Jean and Ororo were dealing with their torture, along with seeing how his daughter and Pyro were adding to their pain.

As he came closer to the hallway, his telepathy began to react to an increase of both emotions and mutant abilities. He quickened his stride, his face becoming more and more marred in suspicion and anger. As Erik opened the door to the hallway, he was consumed by emotions of love, compassion, fear, confusion, and power. He silently glanced around, using his mind to scan for the source of what he was feeling as the hallway was, for the most part, dimly lit, and let his eyes rest on Wanda and John, who were staring at Ororo's cage with confusion etched on their faces. He willed his limited telepathy abilities to tell him why he was sensing such strong emotions and power emanating from them, and recoiled in shock as he found that his daughter and the most untrustworthy of his Acolytes— the insane Pyro—had kissed and were, in reality, in love with each other. His expression turned from one of shock to contempt to disgust to determination and anger in a matter of 90 seconds. He put on his helmet and silently walked up behind them, metal plating from the walls surrounding and following him.

After a moment of hesitation in which some hidden paternal feelings rose to the surface, Erik forced them down and flung his arms forward, sending the metal towards the unsuspecting couple. He clenched his fists, and the metal wrapped around them. Both mutants screamed in pain and shock from the sudden loss of oxygen, and were soon forced to look into the dangerously glittering sapphire eyes of Magneto.

"Wanda! How dare you kiss this maniac! I thought you were better than that!" hissed Erik in a rage as he tightened the metal around the two mutants, secretly enjoying seeing them squirm in pain. "I thought you knew better than to go around my back and betray the trust I put in you to carry on the family reputation of the name Lensherr!"

"What reputation?" Wanda hissed faintly, one of her eyes remaining open as the other one closed at the pain she felt radiating form her chest. Her open eye glared down at her father. "You abandon me in an insane asylum when I was 6 years old, you blame me for mom and Anya's deaths, you treat Pietro and the rest of us like we're your personal slaves, you try to take over the world, you treat those who serve your twisted dream like they are inanimate objects instead of people, you _erase _my memory, you have Mastermind _implant_ fake ones, we don't even have the _same last name_, and you expect me to carry on your _reputation_! Dream on, father."

Erik's eyes dimmed for a moment, but when they focused on John, they flared up once more in intensity and hate. "You, Pyro…" hissed Erik as he once more tightened his hold on the fire-controlling mutant, "you dare to kiss my daughter, my one and only daughter when I specifically told you and the other Acolytes on day one to never get involved with my daughter and what do you do? You go and fall in love with her and not only that, you _kiss_ her! You shall pay for your treachery!"

"You know what, mate?" demanded John as his eyes suddenly snapped open and began to burn a dangerous dark red. "Oy don't care what the fuck you think about Wanda and me, but you need to know one small thing…"

"And that would be what?" demanded Erik, his eyes showing a hint of fear in them at seeing John's red eyes. 'Why in the hell are his eyes glowing red?'

"It's that Oy love her!" John's eyes flared an even darker shade of red if it was possible and flames began to surround him. Erik stepped back in shock, his hold on the two mutants weakening a bit. However, Erik was too focused on John to notice that Wanda's eyes had suddenly turned a dangerous mixture of silver and varying shades of blue.

"You know what, Father?" asked Wanda as she drew Erik's attention from her boyfriend to herself. "I love John too, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it!"

Erik once more backed up, this time true fear showing in his eyes, and his grip on the couple weakened to such an extent that Fred could easily break out of the hold. Wanda's body began to glow with a silver and blue aura, and when it mixed with John's Erik could sense the depth of their emotions. He felt their power surge to levels beyond Xavier's; ones he didn't even imagine existed.

Wanda and John broke out of Erik's hold and landed on the floor, each on one knee. Erik watched as the two mutants rose to their feet, and lifted their arms at the same time and pointed them at Erik. They mouthed something that Erik was unable to understand and shot a combination of flames and magic at Erik. Erik dodged just in time, and when he looked back to where he had been standing his eyes widened at the three-foot hole left in the attack's wake, still smoking. Erik just lay there for a moment, stunned, and then felt flames surround him. He glanced up and saw a wall of fire begin to enclose him.

Erik flung his hand out at John, and managed to ensnare John's jetpack and flamethrowers. He yanked them away from John, tearing John's uniform where they had been connected. Erik fully expected to have the firewall dissipate, leaving him free to manipulate John's jetpack—that was on the other side of the wall—into a sphere large enough and strong enough to stop the two mutants from causing anymore damage.

However, Erik was shocked when the firewall didn't grow weaker; in fact, it only grew stronger. He saw a blue aura come through the wall of flame and he instantly recognized it as one of Wanda's hex-bolts. He tried to dodge, but found himself unable to as John closed the wall of flame closer, giving Erik less room to maneuver.

"Wanda… St. John… please stop! I'm sorry for what I said… I wasn't thinking… I…" begged Erik but he was interrupted when the firewall suddenly vanished. Erik stared in disbelief at the burned floor around him, and then looked up at the two mutants. He found himself staring with his mouth wide open at the sight he beheld: John was engulfed in flames, his eyes staring venomously into Erik's while Wanda stood next to him. She was surrounded by a silver and blue aura, her hands glowing more brightly than Erik had ever seen them when watching Wanda train or attack. Her eyes looked angry enough to shoot daggers out of them and pin him to the wall.

"All right, Magneto. You want to tear us apart? Then you have to go through us first," said John slowly and dangerously. Erik watched in disbelief as John put his hands together and created a gigantic fireball. Erik's eyes widened and he thought, 'My god, how in the world did he do that? I… I took his jetpack!'

John held out the fireball in his left hand, his right in the process of forming what appeared to be fire rings. Wanda also put her hands together and formed a giant blue and silver hex-bolt, along with a psychic ball of fury. Erik could feel they it was very powerful, and he was afraid. Wanda also chanted something that the Master of Magnetism somehow recognized as an ancient Egyptian spell that would incur the wrath of paralysis and torture. Almost as if they were reading each other's minds, they prepared to unleash their attacks on a now very afraid Erik. Just as they were ready to shoot their attacks, they froze in midair, their expressions turning from anger to pain to shock to fear. Their attacks vanished back into them, their eyes returned to their normal colors, and they fell to their knees and then landed face down, some flames and magic sizzling from their owners as they landed.

Erik watched this all happen, slowly got to his feet, and walked over to the fallen mutants. He knelt and felt for a pulse on both of them, and breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief at only finding them unconscious. He then stood up and wondered what had happened to them. He looked around and his eyes landed on the answer to his question: Apocalypse was standing in the other entrance/ exit to hallway #5, staring at Erik disapprovingly.


	40. Meeting with Apocalypse, or En Sabuh Nur

**Disclaimer: **Umm… I… the disclaimer was here… but now it's not… I actually don't know how to phrase this stranger disappearance… so I'll just say I don't have it…

**A/N: **Umm… what can I say? I apologize to the zillionth degree to all my loyal reviewers! I have just been so overwhelmed with the first semester of my Freshman year at college that I neglected this story… I could never find time to write or upload… However, I am going to do my best to try and keep up with this because I really don't want to keep all of you guys, who are awesome by the way for sticking with me and not writing me off… You all deserve a reward for putting up with me… Anyway, here's chapter 39 (finally!!!) of this story; enjoy this long overdue, very late update… again I apologize

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 39: Meeting with Apocalypse, or En Sabuh Nur **

_**Hallway #5, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 5:15 PM** _

Erik caught his breath as he found himself staring into the blood red eyes of En Sabuh Nur, or better known as Apocalypse. Erik did his best to keep his eyes on Apocalypse's but he was having trouble; after all, Apocalypse stood nine feet tall and his pale blue skin and metal veins kept drawing Erik's attention.

"Master Apocalypse, I thank you for your interference. If not for your help I might not be alive," said Erik slowly and softly as he quickly closed off his mind inside his helmet so Apocalypse could not read his it. He got up from checking Wanda and John's pulses, walked over to Apocalypse, and knelt down in front of the Egyptian mutant, all the while hating his actions.

"No thanks needed, slave Magneto," replied Apocalypse as he gazed at Erik with his piercing red eyes, using his telepathic powers to try and read his slave's mind. On finishing what he deemed a necessary test of loyalty he only got feelings of appreciation and gratitude for saving the slave's life, fear that he might be destroyed, and the feeling of knowing that he was nowhere as powerful as Apocalypse.

"Now, follow me, and bring that wench of a mutant Mystique with you," commanded Apocalypse as he began to float towards the exit. Erik got to his feet and prepared to follow his master but before he even moved Apocalypse stopped moving. He turned once more to face Erik, who was still kneeling in respect of Apocalypse's mighty powers. "Also, fix this floor, throw your daughter and her… 'boyfriend' into the two cells in hallway #21 after having their wounds attended to in the infirmary and have that illusionist of yours adjust the controls to torture them with their worst fears in such a way that they will never escape without help from the outside. Understood?" Apocalypse then motioned for Erik to get up, and as he did, then motioned to the limp forms of Wanda and John on the floor. He then nodded towards the doorway that led to hallway #16, where Raven was most likely near death because of a lack of oxygen. He then left, floating out of the door and closing it behind him.

'I must say, it is a pleasure to rule over that slime Magneto; except this time, I know my plans will not fail…' Apocalypse thought as he floated down the hallways en route to his private chambers, where he would plot and scheme some more in order to make his plan perfect.


	41. True Feelings behind the Helmet

**Disclaimer: **… As of now I have not a clue as to where the certificate is… I hope I find it soon…

**A/N:** Since chapter 39 is really, really, really short I decided to give you guys a bonus chapter. Chapter 40 is also acting as an apology for my prolonged absence… enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 40: True Feelings behind the Helmet **

_**Hallway #5, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 5:45 PM** _

As soon as Erik was positive that Apocalypse was gone, his expression hardened from one of obedience to one of anger. Erik got to his feet and clenched his fists, using his powers to tear almost all of the metal plating from the walls. He then surrounded himself with the metal to form a soundproof and telepathic-proof metal sphere. Once this was done, he began to scream in anger and despair, and let loose all of the pent up emotions he had been hiding from Apocalypse just a few moments earlier. He let himself think back to how he had become involved with Apocalypse once more.

FLAHSBACK

A year ago- 2013- Erik had been exploring the hieroglyphics under the Sphinx in the hopes of finding something that he could use to gain an advantage in his quest to make _Homo superior_ the dominant race on the planet. As he scanned through the symbols, writing down, tracing, or even translating anything he found remotely interesting, Erik suddenly felt a chill race down his spine and his limited telepathy crackle into an overload he had never experienced before. He felt something behind him, but when he whirled around and found nothing, he wrote it off as his frayed nerves getting to him. After all, continuously planning to take over the world, making sure Xavier didn't find out his plans, planning for the anniversary of his wife Magda and daughter Anya's deaths, and monitoring his current children and his henchmen all at the same time could take a lot out of a man.

Erik's eyes darted around the darkened tomb, the only light source emanating from a lantern that he used to see by, and he still found nothing. He scolded himself for being paranoid, and put the feeling that he was being watched into the back of his mind. He then turned to continue his work and was shocked to see a shadow, which looked to be about 9 feet tall, behind him. Erik jumped back in surprise, bumping into something that he felt he should recognize… Erik spun around and when he saw what the shadow was, promptly dropped the notebook he had been using and landed on his rear-end. He looked up once more and recognized the blue-skinned mutant that stood in front of him.

"Apocalypse… wh-what are you doing, alive?" stammered Erik nervously as he stared into the piercing red eyes of the ancient Egyptian mutant that had once controlled him.

Apocalypse merely blinked and replied in a deep voice, "Greetings my former Horseman of War. I have a proposition for you, and it is nonnegotiable."

Erik felt a surge of courage and sneered at the mutant, saying, "Think again, Apocalypse. Like I would join with you once again when I actually have something, and people, to live for now."

Apocalypse returned Erik's sneer, but this one made the Master of Magnetism not only lose his short-lived burst of courage but shiver to the bones in fright, something that didn't happen too often. "Oh Magneto, you poor misguided fool. Do you really think I believe anything that comes out from that insane, manipulative mouth of yours, one that spouts lies and obscenities to those you care for; the person who would imprison his own daughter in an insane asylum just because he was too 'busy' mourning her mother and sister's deaths to help her with her powers and her grief?"

With these words, Apocalypse motioned to the wall behind Erik with his right hand. Erik turned around and was shocked to see a dark purple bubble of sorts, but what he saw in the bubble scared him to death.

FLASHBACK

**_Bayville Asylum for the Mentally Complicated, Bayville, New York- September 16, 1994, 5:00 PM_**

The first scene he saw was when he had given his 6-year old daughter Wanda to the insane asylum 19 years earlier. He could hear her screaming "Father! Father, don't leave me! Please! Father!" He had just stood there by his limousine, a 6-year old Pietro watching his twin being taken away by four burly guards.

"Father, why are we letting them take Wanda?" asked Pietro, his small voice causing Erik to reconsider for a moment about letting the Bayville Asylum have his daughter until he sent for her. Then he pushed the feeling away, anger reaching the surface as he remembered his wife Magda and daughter Anya's deaths being caused by Wanda and her powers. He answered Pietro's question with silence and watched; no expression visible on his face, as his daughter was taken into the asylum.

Erik knew Wanda wasn't going to be treated badly; he had paid the Asylum good money to give her comfortable lodgings, to be patient with her, and to make sure she was 100 convinced that in her mind that he was not the enemy. However, he didn't know that she was going to be treated like scum; worse than the other patients, she was going to be abused, mentally and physically, and was not to see the light of day for 10 years. He then told his son, Pietro, to get into the car and they drove away, leaving a crying Wanda looking after them from one of the Asylum's high bay windows.

_**Acolyte Base, Bayville, New York- December 20, 2006, 8:59 PM**_

The next scene that flashed in front of Erik's eyes was when he had been talking to Pietro after another failed attempt to recruit Alex Summers as an Acolyte 8 years earlier. As Erik watched the scene unfold in front of him he cringed as he remembered how he had treated his only son.

"But father, it-wasn't-my-fault! I-mean-it-was-all-Cyclops's fault-and-not-mine-and-" began Pietro in an effort to explain what had happened but had been cut off when his father had slapped him across the face. Pietro fell to the ground from the force of the blow, and looked up at his father, anger burning in the sapphire eyes that the speedster had inherited from his father.

"Quicksilver, if you fail me one more time then I can no longer support you and your 'friends' at that rundown dump you call 'Home Sweet Home' and you will be on your own once more, with no family or anyone to turn to at all. If you get into trouble, which I am sure you will, you will not be getting any help from me like last time. Is that what you want?"

Pietro lowered his head and answered, "No, father. I swear that I will not fail you again." Pietro then got up and left the room and Erik swiftly turned his attention back to the paperwork that crowded his metal desk. What Erik saw next brought a sense of sadness to the forefront, as he watched Pietro slowly put a trembling hand to his face and cup the spot where he had been hit. Tears began to come to his eyes but Pietro stubbornly rubbed them away and placed his hand by his side once more. A stern expression similar to his father's came across his features as he walked away, ignoring Remy, Piotr, and John's questions asking whether or not the speedster was all right. When he reached the exit to the base Pietro sped off, vowing to himself to make sure he did not fail his father again.

**_Bayville Park, Bayville, New York- May 16, 2009, 8:59 AM_**

Erik then saw his third living child—Lorna Dane—as she and her boyfriend Alex Summers were walking through the park. Erik could hear Lorna asking Alex about his adoptive parents, especially his adoptive father, Alex answering each question with curiosity in his voice. Alex stopped and turned to ask Lorna what all the questions about his adoptive father were about, getting a mumbled answer in response. Alex just stared at his girlfriend who snapped and said, "Listen, I'm asking you Alex because I've never really known my father!"

Alex just stared and asked, "Lorna, how could you not know who your father is?" Alex continued to ask Lorna about the issue until once more she snapped and, levitating Alex using a magnetic force field, glared at him.

"I know who he is; it's just that he had no interest in getting to know me or anything of the sort. Think Alex: which other mutant do we know who has powers exactly like mine?" On seeing Alex realize the answer she lowered him to the ground and said, "Yeah, right. My father is none other than Erik Lensherr; Magneto." Lorna then broke down into tears and Alex enveloped her into a hug, murmuring that it was okay; everything was going to be all right. Neither one of them noticed the stricken look on Erik's face as he stood a few feet away, wondering how in the world he had another child that he didn't know anything about. The news near about caused Erik to reveal himself to Lorna and apologize but common logic told him that it would be a mistake… Erik just turned and walked away, not looking back on his new daughter Lorna Dane.

END FLASHBACK

Erik felt his heart wrench as he saw more scenes of his children suffering from his wrath, and then he saw how he had treated Charles, his best friend and rival. It was then that Erik realized what Apocalypse was doing with these scenes; he was blackmailing him to work for him. Erik instinctively knew that if he didn't follow Apocalypse's orders he would lose everything and everyone he held dear and near to him; this time forever.

Apocalypse waved his hand once more and the image disappeared. He watched as Erik turned once more to face him and then let his blood red eyes stare at the metal-wielding mutant. "Magneto, will you join with me?"

Erik swallowed his pride, got to his feet shakily, and bowed from the waist up. He replied, "Yes, Master Apocalypse. I am yours to command."

From then on Erik had been working with both the Brotherhood and the Acolytes to put Apocalypse's grand plan of turning every human in the world into mutants by using a façade of another plan he called his own to do it. Now, however, after seeing the images of how he had hurt those he loved from an outsider's point of view, and not his own, Erik's views on humanity and on himself had began to change. They began to slowly shift back to what they had once been long, long ago. If anyone noticed the change in his attitude, they didn't say anything. Now, he knew that he was single-handedly going to be the cause of the downfall of not only the humans, but the mutants as well.

END FLASHBACK

When Erik had finished his ranting, he dissolved the metal plates with a wave of his hand and placed them back into their original places, making sure to leave no sign of his presence. He then walked over to the two unconscious mutants, knelt, and gently, almost as if he was afraid Wanda would wake up and kill him, ran a hand across her face, brushing her black and red hair behind her ears. He smiled softly, reveling in the fact that he could touch her again, even if she was unconscious.

Erik watched his daughter slowly breathe, and realized then that he truly did love his children, even if it seemed he hated them. He then realized that he owed his children for not being a good parent to them. He abused them mentally; he gave Wanda away and made her think he didn't love her. He realized he couldn't act like a protective father because, well, he didn't deserve that honor. He had given up that chance over twenty years ago when he had let the Bayville Asylum for the Mentally Complicated take Wanda when she was only six, instead of being a father and helping her and Pietro get over their mother and sister's deaths and help Wanda control her powers. If she was happy with the insane, Australian pyromaniac St. John, then well, so be it.

Erik got to his feet and glanced down at the fire manipulator and a growl moved from his chest to his throat, a trait both Pietro and Wanda, possibly Lorna, had inherited, and whispered, "Pyro, I swear on Magda and Anya's graves that if you hurt my daughter in any way then you will have to deal with me."

Erik then wiped his mind clear of any thoughts but obedience to Apocalypse, used his powers to grab John's discarded jetpack, and manipulated it into a large metal stretcher. He picked up Wanda and gently placed her on the stretcher, then put John on the stretcher more roughly. He then walked towards the door that would lead to hallway #16, and made a mental note to make sure to remember to bring Raven with him when he went to see Apocalypse once more, slamming the metal door shut behind him.

A few minutes later, after making sure the coast was clear Lance and Kitty made themselves visible once more. They looked at the door where Erik had left with Wanda and John and debated about what their next move was going to be.

'_Now what Lance?' _asked Kitty worriedly as she looked at Lance.

Lance chewed his lip, revealing the fangs he and Kitty both now had, and replied, _'All right, here's the plan. It's obvious we need to free John and Wanda ASAP, but I'm willing to bet that security measures around their cells are going to skyrocket through the roofs. I think we need to find the other four keys first, considering we'll probably need their help if we're going to rescue Wanda and John.'_

'_Alright, but where do we go first?' _asked Kitty as she cocked her now pointed ears towards the doors, one ear to each door, in the way a cat would so she wouldn't be caught off guard by any approaching footsteps.

'_Well, let's go find the other four keys to defeating Apocalypse then we'll find Wanda and John. Then, we'll go and free everyone else, convince the rest of the Brotherhood and Acolytes to join our cause, and then we'll take down Apocalypse once and for all. Then…" _Lance said but was silenced when Kitty waved her hand to catch his attention.

'_What's wrong? Is someone coming?' _Lance asked as he nervously glanced at the door where Kitty was staring. She nodded, and at a silent signal to each other, they turned themselves invisible, and just in time as Erik came striding through the hallway, dragging an unconscious Raven on the floor behind him by the same metal cage she had been placed in earlier. He quickly walked past Ororo's cage, pausing briefly at Jean's cage to smile at her misery, and then left.

When he was gone, Kitty told Lance, _'I think we better stay invisible as I don't think we'll be able to do much if we're captured too.'_

'_Good idea,' _replied Lance as he cocked his ears to listen for any more footsteps. On hearing none he motioned to Kitty to follow him. They slowly crept their way to the door that led to the main hallway. Kitty phased her head through the door to see if the coast was clear, and on finding it was phased them through the door. They quickly looked around to see if there was anyone there, and finding that no one was in sight or range took to the air. After a few minutes of getting used to their wings again they flew down the hallway, using their x-ray vision to look for the next two keys.


	42. Southern Belle and the Spicy Cajun Part

**Disclaimer: **I do not have time to spend searching for my certificate right now as I have finals this week… damn do finals suck!

**A/N:** For future reference since Rogue is from the South originally she will be speaking French since she speaks it rather well… not to mention I know how to speak it fairly well so it'll give me a chance to keep up with it. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 41: The Southern Belle and the Spicy Cajun; Part 1- Flashback and Struggle **

_**Hallway #23, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 6:45 PM** _

At the opposite end of the complex Rogue opened her emerald eyes and found that she was lying on something soft. She slowly sat up and immediately put a hand to her forehead.

"Damn do Ah have a headache. Je déteste quand je suis mal à la tête," (I hate it when I have a headache) Rogue muttered as she massaged her temples in a vain attempt to stop the headache. After a few moments, sure she wasn't dizzy, Rogue tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed.

"Wha' in tha hell?" sputtered Rogue as she found herself unable to move her legs. She tried summoning her super-strength but found she was unable to. Rogue glanced around near the bed, hoping to find something within arm's reach that would let her pick the locks on the shackles she saw on and around her ankles. Rogue was too concerned with trying to unlock the shackles on her ankles to really ask herself why her hands and arms weren't shackled down at the same time.

Rogue finally gave up on the shackles and looked around the room. 'Tha's strange,' she thought as she got a good look at where she was being held. 'Ah feel like Ah've been here sometim' before, but Ah can't quite place it…' Rogue looked around once more at the room and suddenly realized where she was.

"But this is… this is my room from when Ah lived with Irene!" exclaimed Rogue as she stared at the room, which consisted of a fairly big, iron-wrought bed (which was where she was currently shackled to), two black dressers with white moons on them, a closet, a small black bookcase near her bed that held all of Rogue's CDs, a boombox, a personal CD player, and about 25 books, mostly dark romance. Against the wall underneath a window that overlooked a weeping willow stood a dark mahogany desk with a computer on it, along with some room on it for Rogue to do her homework. On the wall above her bed hung a blown-up map of the United States (like the one in the first _X-Men _movie). Rogue glanced up above the bed and her eyes widened as she saw pins and pictures on the projected path she had wanted to take… a "continental tour", if you will, after she had graduated from college. That is, before she developed her mutant powers. Rogue's eyes looked over the photos, and she saw where she had placed pictures of places she dreamed… _had _dreamed… of going, and took special notice of the picture of the French Quarter from New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

'Wait… why do Ah have a picture from New Orleans on my wall? Ah was only there once, but that was when Ah was "kidnapped" and Remy used me… but at the same time Ah don' think tha' Ah want to go back there, do Ah? But wait… _Remy _lives there!' thought Rogue as she stared at the map, and then on thinking about Remy dug into her torn bomber jacket's left pocket and pulled out a beaten up poker playing card. Rogue stared at it for a few minutes and remembered when Remy had given it to her.

FLASHBACK

**_Rogue and Irene Adler's home, Meridian, Mississippi, planet Earth- June 17, 2009, 10:19 AM_**

It was 2009 and Rogue had just graduated college; one of the last mutants to be allowed to graduate from Bayville College, which would stop letting mutants graduate in the year 2011. She'd made plans to leave the Institute for a few weeks so she could go visit her foster mother Irene Adler in Meridian, Mississippi.

"Rogue, I am glad that you have come home for a visit," greeted Irene as she sensed her foster daughter come in the door. Irene slowly got out of her favorite armchair and opened her arms to greet her foster daughter. Irene was in her most comfortable outfit, which consisted of light brown khakis, a light gray sweater, black loafers, and a delicate gold chain that hung around her neck with a matching gold bracelet on her right wrist, both gifts from Rogue for her last birthday.

"Irene, it feels so good to be back here," said Rogue a bit thickly as her eyes filled with tears, knowing that she was home, if only for a little while. Rogue quickly took to the air and flew up to her room, depositing her duffel bag on her bed. She then flew back downstairs and went into the living room, where she took a seat in the armchair next to Irene and they talked of what had been going on since Rogue had last visited on Irene's birthday a couple of months ago.

**_Rogue and Irene Adler's home, Meridian, Mississippi, planet Earth- June 21, 2009, 9:50 PM_**

"Irene, any new predictions lately?" asked Rogue a few days after her return. Irene's face tightened a bit, as if she was thinking of something terrible. "Irene, are yah okay?" asked Rogue worriedly as she watched her foster mother's face tighten even more.

"Rogue," said Irene softly and urgently a few minutes later, "there is a group of thieves near us and they are planning to capture you. I believe you know them, am I correct?"

"Thieves?" asked Rogue confusedly as she screwed her face into one of concentration. "Ah don't know any thieves… wait, yes Ah do! The Thieves' Guild and the Assassins of N'aw Orleans. Ah was down there five years ago with Remy to help rescue his father. But why in tha hell are they here?"

As Rogue finished saying this the living room window suddenly exploded, glass flying everywhere. Rogue pulled Irene to the floor just in time, and after making sure her foster mother wasn't injured, flew out of the window and into the midst of a battle.

As she floated in the air, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, she surveyed the scene before her. She saw two groups of people before her; one group in bright colored uniforms in shades of pink, blue, and black, and the other group in dark brown or green trenchcoats, with the men having the same hair color as Remy LeBeau. She floated up there for a few minutes, but one of the people in the pink, blue, and black uniforms spotted her and cried, "There! Get her!"

Both groups' heads swiveled up to look at the Southern belle in the air above them and then, as if they communicated through a prearranged silent signal, began firing at Rogue. Rogue cursed as she dodged all of the lasers and bullets heading her way, but was unable to dodge all of them, as one of them hit her in the stomach. Rogue screamed out in pain and collapsed to the ground, clutching her stomach as she did so, her fingers starting to become red from the wound, her invincibility not quite having kicked in quite yet.

Rogue lay on the ground, and accessed the healing factor she had absorbed from Logan a couple months ago in trying to gain control of her powers. Rogue felt the wound begin to heal, and as she was trying to catch her second wind took no notice of the two groups advancing upon her. She barely heard them speak to each other, saying, "Grab her an' be careful ta not touch her skin."

Just as Rogue's wound was almost healed she was kicked hard in the ribs and felt, or rather heard, one or two of them crack. Rogue gasped as pain overwhelmed her, and she tried to heal her ribs but then was kicked once more in the ribs, along with being punched in the face. She felt herself being picked up, a gloved hand around her exposed neck. Rogue could feel herself begin to suffocate but just when she was about to pass out she heard her captor scream in pain. Rogue was dropped to the ground and landed on her bruised ribs, which Logan's healing factor was slowly taking care of. Rogue's eyes fluttered open when she heard more screams and lifted her head, wincing as she felt pain radiating from her neck. Rogue's eyes adjusted once more to the darkness and she saw flashes of bright orange light streaming down around her, yet somehow missing her. She could hear shots going off all around her and saw blue and red lights shooting up into the air.

Rogue slowly got to her feet, wincing as she placed a hand around her chest where the ribs were still slowly healing. As Rogue watched the battle of lights she could hear curses and screams of pain from the ground and she suddenly realized that the orange lights were the calling cards of the Cajun mutant Gambit. Rogue watched as the light show intensified, the orange lights from Gambit's playing cards growing brighter and descending quicker and quicker.

The two groups cursed at their bad luck and continued to curse as the cards hit their guns, causing the metal to turn piping hot and their owners to drop them to the ground, the guns now smoking piles of metal. Rogue heard movement behind her but before she could whirl around she felt a piece of cold metal pressing against her neck. Rogue couldn't breathe as she heard someone whisper, "It's my turn to deal wit' yah, sugah. No one, but no one ruins mah weddin' day to de man of mah dreams, yah River Rat!" Rogue felt a surge of fear run through her as she recognized the voice of Belladonna Boudreaux— Remy's fiancé. Rogue and Belladonna had met during Mardi Gras last year and both had taken an instant dislike to the other. Rogue tried to not breathe, afraid that her invulnerable skin wasn't working, as lasers had shot her so why not be cut in the throat as well?

Rogue stood that way for a few minutes, a hand around her chest, the other held behind her back by Belladonna, a knife at her throat, with Belladonna chuckling darkly. Rogue suddenly felt the pressure on the pinned arm weaken and realized Belladonna was no longer chuckling. Rogue quickly backhanded whoever was behind her and heard a man curse in French. She lunged around and performed a roundhouse kick and heard the man curse loudly. Rogue was forced back when her kick landed, not quite having her balance returned to her. She was about to throw a punch when she heard a man whisper, "Stay still, chère." Rogue wasn't sure why but she listened to that voice and kept still, and she soon heard more curses breaking the silence around her, along with some gunshots.

After what seemed to be forever silence reined over the battlefield and Rogue felt she could move. She removed her arm from her chest, glad to feel that her ribs had healed. She looked around, and when her eyes had adjusted to the darkness she saw numerous bodies of both the groups spread all over the lawn. Rogue looked around, looking for the body of Belladonna but didn't see her. Rogue began to walk towards the house, wanting to make sure Irene was okay. She broke into a run when she heard a groan of pain coming from the house and tried to access Pietro's power but couldn't because she felt too weak.

When Rogue had almost reached the house she felt something grab her legs and bring her down to the ground. Rogue hit her nose and felt blood spurt into her mouth, the taste burning her tongue. Rogue tried to get up but felt someone sitting on her back, and once more felt the cold pressure of metal pressed against her neck. This time Rogue felt more than one chill racing through her as she recognized the shape of the metal pressed against the back of her neck— a pistol. Rogue could barely make out someone gloating over her evident demise and closed her eyes, knowing she was too weak to activate her invulnerable skin and that death was near.

Just when Rogue thought it was all over she felt the weight removed from her back and heard scuffling behind her. Rogue stayed on the ground, hoping for her strength to return to her when she felt someone grab her from behind by her waist. She heard a hint of grunting as she was pulled to her feet and felt arms encircle her waist, helping her stay balanced. Rogue felt pain shoot up her right ankle as she tried to put pressure on it and instantly knew it was broken.

"Let Remy help ya, chère," came a voice from behind Rogue, who froze, recognizing the voice. She swung around in the person's arms and slapped whoever was behind her, hearing the voice mutter, "Oui, et dis is de thanks Remy gets for savin' your life?"

"Gambit! Wha' tha hell are yah doin' here?" asked Rogue angrily, fire burning in her emerald eyes. Remy merely smiled and tightened the hold he had around the Southern mutant. He grinned when he saw that Rogue couldn't take her eyes off his.

"Parce que ma chère (Because my dear) was in danger, and Remy thought she needed help, and since Remy was in the neighborhood Remy helped," answered Remy as he looked into Rogue's eyes and found himself lost I them. 'Mon Dieu (My God), those eyes… they draw Remy in like moths ta a flame.'

Remy was surprised when Rogue's eyes flashed in anger once more and broke out of Remy's hold, floated off the ground about a foot and yelled, "Ah am not your chère, Swamp Rat!"

Remy grinned in amusement at the nickname she had given him. "Ah, but chère," he said, "That's simply not true, as you have given Remy a pet name, which is your way of showin' Remy that you care." Remy was pleased to see her blush a bit, but found himself forced back a couple of feet, his jaw hurting like hell and he realized Rogue had punched him; hard.

As Remy rubbed his jaw he watched Rogue storm away, or rather float slowly away and figured that it was time for him to leave. 'Mais (But) Remy has to do somethin' first…'

With this thought Remy ran up to Rogue, who was just about to go back inside her house and see how Irene was and find out the rest of the vision, knowing that there had to have been more than Irene had told her. Rogue was fuming in anger at how she had let her guard down and had been embarrassed once more by the smooth-talking Cajun.

'Why does this happen to meh every time Ah see that Swamp Rat, and why do Ah always seem to be drawn to him? Ah mean, come on, he's no catch, plus he's on Magneto's side, an' Ah don't think tha Professor would approve…'

Rogue was interrupted from her thoughts when she felt a hand grab her arm again, pulled down so she was forced to put pressure on her broken ankle, and was twirled around to meet Remy's face once more.

"Gambit, wha' in tha hell are yah doin'…" began Rogue angrily but was stopped when Remy placed a playing card to her lips and kissed her through it. Rogue closed her eyes and unknowingly leaned into the kiss, and after a few minutes, Remy broke the kiss and forced the same playing card into Rogue's gloved hands. Remy then winked at Rogue, smirking as he did so and ran off, using his Bo pole to leap into a nearby weeping willow and take off into the night. Remy did so not caring about the numerous men and women lying sprawled across Rogue's front lawn, some of them his own relatives—distant, yes, but relatives nonetheless.

It took Rogue a few minutes to realize that she was holding something. When she looked down, her eyes widened when she saw that it was none other than the Queen of Hearts, which she knew from past encounters was his favorite card to use in battle and which he also used to represent her. She glanced up from it only to find that the Cajun mutant was gone and the thieves were still sprawled across her lawn. She sighed and tucked the card in the pocket of her now smoldering bomber jacket and went into the house to call the police and have them pick up the "drunk" men and women and to also check on her foster mother.

She'd heard later that the two groups were in fact the two rival guilds from New Orleans and they had come to get her for a specific reason, which to the authorities was unknown. Rogue, however, knew why they had come for her: they had heard she was back in the area and had raced each other up from the city to kidnap her, brainwash her into doing their dirty work for them, eliminate the rival guild, and help take over the whole of New Orleans while Belladonna had been out for plain revenge.

**_Rogue & Irene Adler's home, Meridian, Mississippi, planet Earth- July 1, 2009, 11:50 AM_**

The rest of her vacation went by quickly with no more incidents, but all too soon Rogue had to return to the Institute. She hugged Irene tightly, looking around at the newly repaired house she had fixed. Rogue then said good-bye to Irene, picked up her luggage (she had acquired one more bag than she had arrived with) and made to leave when Irene called, "Rogue, come back for a minute."

"Wha' is it Irene?" asked Rogue as she knelt in front of her foster mother, who was sitting in her favorite armchair. "Are ya alright? Is somethin' wrong? Are ya sick or somethin?"

"No, nothing like that, Rogue. You forgot something, daughter," replied Irene softly as she held up the card Remy had left with her. Rogue started in surprise, her eyes growing wide. Rogue was about to tell Irene to throw the card out when Irene continued, "Take it Rogue. You will soon see that this card will mean more to you than you could have ever thought possible."

With these words Irene pressed the card into her foster-daughter's hand, hugged her once more, and gave her a shove towards the door.

"But Irene… Ah," began Rogue but was cut off when Irene shook her head no at Rogue's unspoken question of whether Irene would tell her what she meant. Rogue then sighed, put the card in her jacket, and left to return to the Institute.

Irene heard her daughter take to the air and sighed, thinking, 'I wish I could have told you what all my vision entailed that night, Rogue, but you will soon learn what that card will be useful for and what the future has in store.' Irene sucked in her breath when another vision flashed into her mind, showing eight young adults, four women and four men, floating in the air, dressed in flowing white and black robes, Rogue among them.

BACK TO PRESENT DAY

"Wha' am Ah doin', thinkin' about that Swamp Rat when Ah really need to find a way out o' here!" muttered Rogue as she focused on the present and not the past. She studied the card carefully and suddenly remembered something she had seen in a spy movie a couple weeks ago and slid the card's edges into an ankle shackle's lock. Rogue wiggled the card around inside, hoping to hit some mechanism that would open the locks and to her immense relief a click was heard and one ankle shackle was open. Rogue then did the same with the other ankle shackle and sighed with relief when it too came undone. Rogue swung her now free legs over the bed, letting them hang as the blood circulation returned to normal. Rogue looked at the card and then carefully put it back into her jacket.

"Parfait… (Perfect)," muttered Rogue angrily as she tried to wrench the device on her neck off but gave up after a few minutes of not getting even the smallest leverage. "Is there anythin' in this room o' mine that'll let meh get this damn device off?"

Rogue looked around the room and her eyes landed on one of her dressers where she spotted some bobby pins left over from a high school project that she had never gotten around to getting rid off. Rogue smirked and thought to herself, 'Perfect. Ah'll free myself then go and find everyone else and get tha hell out o' here.'

Rogue began walking over to the dresser when she heard the door to the room open. Rogue spun around and stood with her mouth gaping as she saw Remy enter the room, and felt her hopes being dashed to pieces.

"Gambit, wha' in tha hell are yah doin' here? Yah are tha one who put meh here in this hellhole, and Ah demand tha' yah let meh go so Ah can help tha others!" growled Rogue, having closed her mouth quickly. Rogue stared at the Cajun mutant in front of her, hoping he would take pity on her and remove the device from her neck.

"Now, I know that you are trying with all of your might to come up with a plan to escape this room, but luckily, or should I say, unluckily, for you, escape is not possible," said Gambit as he moved closer to Rogue. Rogue watched as he came closer and for a moment thought she saw his eyes flash yellow. "Although you have escaped your shackles using your powers, I feel it to be the better option to turn your mutation inhibition device on now."

Rogue heard a beeping sound as the device turned off (it had been on the whole time) and Rogue rejoiced in the feeling of her powers returning to her. Rogue then turned her attention to the mutant in front of her, her mouth in a thin line, watching the Cajun move closer and closer to her.

When Gambit was a few feet away from her he began to squirm and writhe as if he was in pain. Rogue watched in horror and disbelief as Gambit began to change, his form becoming sleeker, scalier, and blue. His hair began to change from the dark auburn-brown she loved… wait, 'loved?!' to a vibrant red, and his red-on-black eyes began to turn into yellow, almost cat-like eyes. Rogue's eyes widened in realization of what she was seeing.

"Mystique! You bitch! How dare yah imprison meh like Ah'm…Ah'm some kind of caged animal! Also, wha' in tha' hell gives yah the right to impersonate Remy like that?" yelled Rogue as she ripped the inhibition device off, startling the shapeshifter, and flew towards her, a fist raised and ready to punch her Raven.

Raven smiled a savage, cat-like smile that sent chills up Rogue's spine but the flying mutant continued to head towards her target. Raven sidestepped Rogue at the last moment and hit Rogue on the back of her neck, knocking her to the ground. After a moment Mystique stopped smiling and moved closer to Rogue, flipped her onto her back, and stared down into Rogue's eyes.

"Welcome my daughter," said Raven slowly, "to your last night as Rogue of the X-Men and your first day as Rogue the Horseman of Famine and loyal servant of Apocalypse!"

Raven began to laugh evilly, holding a struggling Rogue down and slowly reached a hand into a small pocket in her uniform and brought out syringe filled with some kind of black liquid. Rogue struggled once more and heard Raven grunt a little as she held Rogue to the ground and knew instinctively that she was winning the battle. Rogue summoned all her strength, including the strength she had inherited from Carol Danvers and what she had stored in her memory from Piotr, Logan, Sabretooth, and Hank. Rogue pushed Raven off her and lunged at the blue-skinned mutant, catching her off-guard. This caused the syringe to fly out of Raven's hand and land on the floor a couple of feet away. Raven summoned her own strength and threw Rogue off, lunging for the syringe. Raven yelled in pain when she felt what seemed to be a lead foot press down on her back and screamed as the pain radiated from her back into her chest and gasped in pain as she felt her ribs being crushed. After a few minutes of torture Raven faded into unconsciousness.


	43. The Southern Belle and the Spicy Cajun

**Disclaimer: **I have decided that the lawyers deserve a break from me so I will not try to obtain the certificate; this time. Happy New Year!!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 42: The Southern Belle and the Spicy Cajun; Part 2- Medical Aid, Trap, and Discovery**

**_Hallway #23, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 7:45 PM _**

"Yah know Mystique," drawled Rogue as she watched her foster-mother take shallow and slow breaths. "Yah're lucky yah have a small hint of healing capability in yah, 'cause otherwise yah would be dead right now. Pity yah have that healing capability, though." With these words Rogue removed her foot from the unconscious form of her foster-mother and walked over to the syringe. She stepped on it and crushed it into a million small individual pieces, the black liquid oozing through the small cracks in the boarded floor, which when Rogue looked at it more closely saw to be made of metal.

"Now to get out of here," muttered Rogue as she turned to face the door but found herself staring into the face of Gambit.

"Gambit, wha' in tha hell…" began Rogue angrily, thinking it was another trick, but as she made a move towards the Cajun she noticed the blood coming from his mouth and the slash marks covering his chest, arms, and hands, his gloves not present. His trench coat was gone and what was left of his clothes was hanging in shreds. She felt concern for him well up inside of her and instead of taking out her anger on him she moved carefully towards him and softly touched his face, failing to register the fact that she had no gloves on.

"Remy?" asked Rogue carefully, noting that his head moved a little at the sound of her voice, his eyes fluttering a bit. "Remy, wha' happened?" Rogue watched as Remy tried to answer but his legs chose to give out on him at that moment and he collapsed into Rogue's arms. Rogue, knowing that he was in danger of dying, quickly flew him over to the bed that had held her prisoner not too long ago, placed him on it, and then ran to where she knew she had a first-aid kit in her real room.

'If this room is a replica of mah room, then it should have tha first-aid kit that Ah kept here… ah, here it is!' thought Rogue excitedly as she finished throwing stuff out of her closet and found the first-aid kit.

Rogue ran back to Remy and took out antiseptic solution, gauze, a bottle of water, rubbing alcohol, and bandages. She began to clean his wounds, wincing as she heard him groan in pain. Rogue also removed what remained of Remy's clothes, leaving the pants on and wrapped bandages around his chest. Rogue poured antiseptic solution onto a piece of gaze and applied it to his arm, visibly wincing as Remy yelled in pain. She finished cleaning the rest of his wounds and then wrapping them in the bandages she had available.

As she finished she felt Remy's hand suddenly grab hers, which was still bare of any covering. Rogue closed her eyes and waited anxiously for her ability to occur, but to her surprise she felt nothing.

"Wha' in the…" muttered Rogue in surprise and shock as she felt nothing...no pull, no screaming, no energy surge from an absorption of Remy from her abilities. Rogue slowly opened her eyes and stared at Remy's hand, which continued to touch hers, and she heard him mutter, "Rogue…"

"It's okay, sugah," whispered Rogue as she let the sound of her name roll out of his mouth wash over her. She realized that she liked how her name sounded when it came from him, and slowly realized that she cared about him as more than a friend.

"Hmm… Ah don' know how, but yah've somehow wormed your way into mah heart, Cajun," whispered Rogue as she gently removed Remy's hand from hers and finished bandaging his face, putting the final touches on a particularly nasty cut near his right eye. She then began to put away the supplies she had used. She put the first aid kit on the nightstand table, and on seeing the still broken syringe on the ground near an unconscious Mystique she walked over to the broken tool. She knelt and using her hands, knowing that her invincibility protected her from both the glass shards and the remnants of the liquid, brushed the broken glass into her hands and dumped it into the garbage can present in her room. She then turned her attention to her unconscious foster-mother.

"Bitch…" muttered Rogue as she looked at her and then having thought of what to do her next walked over to her. She then picked her up roughly and carried her to the still-open closet door. She threw Raven inside, tossed everything she had previously thrown out in her search for the first aid kit in on top of her, and closed the door, and as a second thought locked it.

Just as she placed the key in her jacket pocket she heard Remy groan and turned towards him. She watched as his eyes fluttered open and he tried to sit up, but gasped at the pain he felt at trying to do so.

"Merde (Shit) did dat hurt," gasped Remy as he tried to catch his breath and sit up at the same time. He paused in his actions to take notice of his hands, stripped of their usual gloves, and the bandages covering his chest, arms, and hands, and felt his face, noticing that the blood that had been there was gone and bandages were also present.

"How in de world did Remy become bandaged up et pourquoi (and why) is Remy on un lit (a bed)?" asked Remy out loud, failing to notice Rogue's presence until he saw her out of the corner of his eye.

"Chère?" asked Remy in shock as he saw her looking at him.

"Remy, yah doin' okay?" asked Rogue softly as she continued to stare at him. She could feel herself start to blush a bit as Remy continued to stare at her, his red-on-black eyes not wavering in their intensity.

"Oui (Yes), Remy is all right, mais pourquoi (but why) are you blushing. Unless ma chère (my dear) is in love with Remy?" responded Remy as he continued to stare at Rogue, and then grinned one of his winning smiles, knowing that it had won him points with girls in the past. He watched as Rogue's eyes began to cloud over with anger and felt his confidence in his charms began to wane but kept hope that he would win Rogue over.

"For the last time _swamp rat_," spat Rogue as she strode over to him, putting emphasis on swamp rat, "Ah am not your chère!"

"Mais oui (But yes) you are 'cause you took de time to take care of Remy when he was injured, and if dat doesn't say dat you care 'bout Remy then Remy don't know what will… river rat," responded Remy seriously as he glanced down at the bandages that were covering his injuries. He knew instinctively that Rogue cared for him but knew that she would admit it to him in time.

"Well, yeah Ah had to help yah, sugah, but tha' doesn't mean tha' Ah care for yah and don' call meh river rat!" responded Rogue angrily as she stood beside Remy and stared at his eyes, which were watching her. Remy could see the sparks flashing in her eyes.

Remy shrugged and replied, "Dat may be, chère, mais (but) Remy knows dat you had to care 'bout Remy as a person, parce que (because) if you didn't, then Remy would still be hurt, non (no)?" He watched as Rogue started at these words and knew he had won the battle but not the war.

After a few minutes Rogue shook her head in mock defeat and moved to sit beside Remy in the chair she pulled over from her desk. After a moment of silence she asked, "Remy, how in tha hell did yah get hurt in tha first place?"

Remy sighed, knowing that what he was going to say was going to be a big shock, and would probably affect Rogue a lot. "Well," began Remy, "it all happened comme ça… (like this)"

FLASHBACK

**_En route to hallway #23, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 6:00 PM_**

Remy had been striding down the hallway on his way to see Rogue and make sure she escaped. He had been formulating a plan in his head ever since she had been brought to Asteroid Evolution, and knew that it was time to act. Remy had a plan: free Rogue, convince her he was on her side, save the day, win her affections, and then join the X-Men.

As he walked around a corner, he was greeted with a sight that froze him to the spot. There before him was a huge man, close to nine feet tall with blue skin and what looked like mechanical veins running over his skin. Talking to the man was Raven, who was gesturing madly. Remy, calling on his powers of empathy, was able to sense fear and despair coming from Raven, and knew instinctively that it was concerning Rogue.

Remy was about to go find another route to Rogue's cell, but suddenly the gigantic man whirled around and Remy was shocked to see the piercing red eyes that he had gazed into 10 years earlier- Apocalypse. Apocalypse brought his hand up quickly and shot an energy blast at Remy. Remy, not being able to move quickly enough, was hit dead on and screamed in pain as he felt his hands, chest, and arms being torn apart and felt the blood flowing out of them. He felt his gloves being torn to shreds, his coat being ripped away and torn into strips, his clothes being slashed revealing large gashes. He also felt his face begin to hurt like hell and bleed and finally the excruciating pain he felt when he felt a needle prick him in the back of his neck. Remy stood, frozen in shock and pain for a moment before collapsing on the ground in a heap, his wounds beginning to bleed and his now cut lip oozing. Before fading into unconsciousness he heard Raven scream, the shattering of a glass needle hitting the floor, and Apocalypse saying, "Welcome my Horseman of Pestilence."

END FLASHBACK

"Puis (Then), next thing Remy knows, Remy is strugglin' to his feet et (and) is limping and stumbling towards ton (your) cell. Then, Remy see your visage (face) full of worry and Remy collapses. Then Remy wakes up to find himself bandaged up and to see tu (you) once more avec (with) concern on ton visage (your face). Then you ask Remy to tell you wha' happened to Remy, and Remy tell you, and now is de present time," finished Remy as he looked once more into Rogue's eyes, not knowing what to expect, but knowing something was wrong when he saw her eyes fill with tears. He became worried at her expression but became even more so when Rogue wrapped her arms around him and cried into his chest, wetting the bandages wrapped around his injuries. Remy slowly wrapped his arms around the sobbing Rogue and comforted her while at the same time savoring the moment, not knowing when he would have an opportunity like it again.

After a few minutes Rogue lifted her face off his chest and stared into his red-on-black eyes. She knew then and there that no matter what she felt or how she tried to hide it she could no longer hide the fact that she was deeply in love with the man named Remy LeBeau. She continued to stare into his eyes and on a sudden impulse she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Remy was expecting her to start draining his powers and life force, but on feeling nothing kissed her back. They stayed this way for a few moments, and then on breaking up Remy stared in amazement at Rogue, who suddenly stood up and walked over to the door, folding her arms across herself protectively.

"Wha' de matter petite?" asked Remy worriedly as he watched her shudder for a moment and then turn around to face her with worry etched on her face.

"Remy, Ah…" began Rogue but was cut off as she felt something, or someone approaching. She quickly unfolded her arms and took a defensive stance in front of Remy. Remy slowly swung his legs over the bed and got to his feet, wobbling a bit as he did so, and moved to stand beside Rogue. He noticed and felt her about to protest his actions but just as she was about to speak he heard voices speaking.

"Are you sure that it's them in there?" asked a voice that both adults listening could recognize as a male's.

"Of course I am, don't you believe what you saw with your own eyes?" replied a female voice a bit huffily, and Rogue's ears perked up a bit at the sound.

"If you say so…" muttered the male voice and then there was silence. Remy and Rogue just stared at the door and waited for it to come slamming open and an enemy to come in and start trying to kill them. They were surprised however when they didn't see anyone come in. After a few minutes of silence Remy and Rogue slowly relaxed their positions.

Rogue then turned to Remy and yelled, "Remy, wha' in tha' hell are yah doing movin' around? Yah were almost killed by Apocalypse and yah still try and move around like nothing's wrong? Yah are such an idiot… un cochon bête (a stupid pig)!"

Remy merely smiled and turned to face Rogue. As he stared at her, still smiling at her, he noticed out of the corner of his eye a claw… a purple claw to be exact, and moving subtly he drew a torn card from his pants pocket, charged it, and threw it at the claw. Both Remy and Rogue started on hearing a scream that Rogue recognized instantly, and watched as the claw then disappeared.

"Kitty? Kitty, if that's yah, then where tha hell are yah?" asked Rogue sharply as her eyes darted around the room, searching for the valley girl whom she considered one of her best friends.

As Rogue scanned the room Remy was staring with narrowed eyes at the area where he had seen the claw appear and then disappear as his card hit it. He started on seeing not only one claw, but four, two green and two purple, materializing, followed by wings, tails, and finally torsos. Remy stared in open-mouthed shock at the two creatures that had appeared in front of him. He tapped Rogue on the shoulder and as she turned to ask him what was wrong she too caught sight of the creatures and froze as well.

The creatures appeared to the two mutants to be a mix between human beings and gargoyle-like creatures, the green one a few inches taller than the purple one, with the green creature being male and the other female. What caught them off guard were the hairstyles they wore, the male having shoulder-length brown hair and the female having her hair in a short braid. Their uniforms were dark, but Rogue recognized Kitty's costume. She stared at the purple creature and realized with a shock that she knew the creature… it was Kitty.

"Kitty? Oh my gawd is tha' yah?" asked Rogue in shock as she took a step toward the creature she assumed to be Kitty. Remy cautiously watched her move towards the creature, and once more was prepared to shoot some of his cards at the creatures if he felt that they would harm Rogue in any way, noticing that the green creature was watching him in the same way.

As Rogue moved closer to the creature, with Remy watching like a hawk, the green creature suddenly started and directed his gaze from the Cajun to the closet, from which he could pick up the sound of screaming. After a few minutes, he narrowed his eyes and walked over to the door, and reached out a clawed hand to touch the door handle when he all of a sudden started back as he saw a cobra slither out from between the cracks in the door.

"Damn it, that's Mystique!" shouted the green creature as he watched the snake begin to slither towards the door. "Oh no you don't, Mystique!" shouted the creature as he lunged towards the snake but slammed onto the floor as the snake moved out of his way just in time to prevent herself from getting crushed.

"Get that snake!" yelled the creature as he got to his feet and ran towards the creature. He lunged again and again, missing each time as he landed on the floor with a loud crashing sound. Remy, not knowing what to do, just stood there, as did Rogue, but both were surprised to see the purple creature put her hands to her head and concentrate. They watched in amazement as the snake began to glow a dark purple color and then was moved to the bed and held there. Remy and Rogue watched as they saw metal links appear out of nowhere, glowing a dark green, and strap themselves around the snake, which was now being forced to change back into Mystique. Then the metal wrapped so tightly around the mutant that it seemed as if she was unable to breathe. Rogue moved as if to help her foster mother but stopped herself. Mystique changed into a cheetah, a mouse, a dog, anything she could think of to get herself free of her bonds but the links followed her every movement, and stopped her from escaping.

"You imbeciles! You let me the hell out of these bonds, before I wreak my vengeance as the Horseman of Pestilence!" screamed Raven as she struggled as hard as she could, trying to free herself. She even tried splitting herself into multiple bats at one time (one of her newer powers as a horseman of Apocalypse), but found that even when she was multiple forms of an animal at one time the chains still followed her and refused to let her go.

After a few minutes, Raven realized that it was useless to try and escape and became real still. She appeared to Rogue and Remy to have stopped breathing. Rogue stared at her foster mother for a few minutes and then suddenly began to move towards her, a hypnotic look clouding her face.

"Rogue!" yelled Remy as he tried to grab her wrist to hold her back, and would have succeeded if Rogue had not flicked her wrist and thrown him against the wall, causing him even more pain than what he was already feeling.

"Rogue…" whispered Remy as he watched the woman he loved move closer towards what he knew was a trap. He tried to get up to stop Rogue, but fell to his knees in pain, hands moving to encircle his chest for a moment then removed them when he felt the pain worsen when his arms applied pressure to his chest.

"Non! Ce n'est pas possible! (No, it's not possible)" screamed Remy as he slammed his fists to the ground realizing that he was helpless in trying to help Rogue. Remy ignored the pain emanating from his hands and body. He didn't notice Rogue toss the two creatures to the side after trying to stop her or the change in the air pressure around Rogue as she continued to move closer to Raven. He didn't even feel or hear the water as it began to come out of the walls, crackling with the energy Remy unknowingly released into it.

All of a sudden Remy felt his injuries begin to heal, the cuts and bruises disappearing along with his pain. Remy picked his hands up from the floor where they had been clenched a few moments ago and stared at them as he saw his gloves, which had been disintegrated in the attack from Apocalypse, begin to reassemble.

After a few moments he felt like he was brand new; he felt no pain; and suddenly knew what was wrong with Rogue and knew what was about to happen.

"Rogue!" shouted Remy as he jumped to his feet and ran to Rogue, pushing her out of the way as a beam of dark blue came out of Raven's eyes, as she had been watching Rogue come closer to her and had just been about to strike. Remy felt the blue beam hit him but strangely felt no pain… he felt like it was reflecting off of him and back to where it came from.

Remy heard Raven scream in pain as the beam hit her, and knew she'd been knocked unconscious. After a minute of wondering what had happened he noticed that there was water crackling with orange energy all over the room, and knew that he had somehow caused it. He stared once more at his hands, wondering how everything had just happened. He then spied Rouge out of the corner of his eye, and, worried, rushed over to her, not noticing that the two creatures were watching them with interest from where they were leaning against the door.

"Chère… Rogue, please tell Remy, or show Remy dat tu (you) are all right… s'il te plait (please)," whispered Remy as he cradled Rogue's body in his arms, gently brushing back some loose strands that had fallen across her face. On impulse Remy leaned down and brushed a small kiss on Rogue's lips, expecting once more to feel the sudden feeling that he was being absorbed, thinking the previous time had been a fluke. He was surprised to not feel anything; no absorption of his abilities, memories, or life force, but instead felt Rogue respond to his kiss. Remy kissed Rogue for a little longer; noting that Rogue had opened her eyes and found himself lost into their emerald depths. Neither Rogue or Remy noticed the water they happened to be sitting in begin to crackle with Remy's energy again but also the air as it blew around them, creating a whirlwind, lifting the water with it, enclosing the couple inside a tornado of water.

After a few minutes they broke apart, the whirlwind slowly dissipating, leaving them both staring into each other's eyes, while still sitting on the water-covered floor. They broke out of their trance when they heard someone clearing their throat. They looked up to find the two creatures staring at them, both with smirks plastered on their faces.

"Well, looks like the thief and the southern beauty have gotten themselves involved with each other," said the green creature, his smirk slowly turning into a genuine smile. He then turned, reached out and took the purple creature's claw and, looking into her eyes brought the claw up to his face and kissed it softly, his eyes never leaving hers. After a few minutes of just staring into each other's eyes they both broke out into laughter.

Rogue, who had been getting angrier by the moment that two complete strangers, creatures in fact, had been watching her and Remy as they had shared a kiss, a true kiss, something she thought she would never be able to have. She quickly got to her feet, not noticing that the air had started to form a cyclone around her and her eyes changed from emerald to a clear white.

"Hey yah two," she said with anger lacing her words, "how dare yah laugh de la sorte quand j'ai eu mon premier baiser sans (like that when I had my first kiss without) absorbing tha guy's memories, life force, or powehs. Alors, si je vous ai été (So, if I was you), Ah'd run," said Rogue as she raised her arms without thinking and shot a gust of wind in the shape of a mini cyclone at the two creatures with the intent of hitting them. However she watched as her cyclones missed their targets, as the creatures disappeared and, unknown to her, moved directly behind her.

"Where'd they go?" asked Rogue as she lowered her arms, her eyes turning back to their emerald color and the wind around her subsiding until it was gone. She turned to Remy, who had moved beside her, with a questioning look on her face, and got a look saying he had not a clue, although Rogue could sense Remy's abilities were working furiously, trying to find the creatures' locations.

After a few minutes of trying to figure out how Rogue had missed her targets and where they had disappeared to Rogue asked, "Remy, how in tha hell was Ah able to kiss yah without absorbin' anything?" Rogue looked into Remy's red-on-black eyes, hoping that he would have an answer for her. Her hopes were dashed when he averted his eyes from hers and slowly shook his head no. Rogue bit her lip in an effort to keep herself from crying, thinking that the two kisses she had experienced were only flukes and she would never be able to truly touch someone for a long period of time.

"That's not true, Rogue. The two kisses you and Remy shared weren't flukes at all but a sign that you have gained full control over your powers," said a feminine voice from behind the two Southerners.

Rogue and Remy both spun around quickly, Remy taking a card out from his jacket and charging it. They didn't see any one behind them, but knew instinctively there was someone there; near them but unseen.

"Vous êtes où (Where are you)?" asked Remy as he looked around the room, using the skills from being an ex-thief to try and see some sign of movement from the space in front of them, but didn't see anything or anyone. Rogue's eyes darted around, trying to figure out where the sound had come from, but couldn't find any clues.

"Alright, yah two creatures, where in tha hell are yah?" yelled Rogue as she instinctively took up one of her favorite fighting stances and Remy charged a few more cards he had taken from his jacket, now having ten card-bombs ready for battle.

"Jeez, chill out Rogue," came the same voice from before, and this time Rogue's memory recognized the voice, identifying it in a spilt second.

"Kitty? Oh mah gawd, yah're all right! Ah thought tha' yah were dead; Ah mean, tha professor wouldn't let meh in and Kurt wouldn' tell meh what was wrong with yah, and… wait, what happened to yah and where are yah?" finished Rogue as she lowered her defenses completely and stepped forward, where she somehow sensed the voice had come from. Remy watched her, his cards still charged, and both of them watched in amazement as the two creatures materialized slowly, letting the two Southern mutants gradually adjust their eyes to what they were seeing.

"Kitty, wha' tha hell happened to yah?" asked Rogue as she stepped forward and stared in disbelief at the creature who was her best friend.

Kitty took a deep breath, but before she could explain what had happened she heard Remy gasp and the sound of the cards' energy being taken away then shuffling as they were quickly placed back inside his trenchcoat. Both women watched as Remy went to the green creature and stared at him for a minute.

"Lance, mon ami, is dat you?" asked Remy as he stared at his teammate and the man who had been marked a traitor by Erik not too long ago.

"Yeah, Remy, it's me," said Lance resignedly as he looked at the Cajun and cracked a grin. "The outside may not look too pretty, but its still me in here." Lance then hit himself lightly on the chest to prove he wasn't a robot and he and Remy began to laugh.

"Anyway, Rogue, here's what, like, happened," said Kitty as she began to tell her story, ignoring the two men. Remy and Lance stopped laughing and Remy and Rogue listened with rapt attention to learn what had happened to their teammates.


	44. Southern Belle and Spicy Cajun

**Disclaimer: **I've finally recovered from past attacks from others for stealing their powers I have decided to use Pyro's abilities to get my certificate from the nasty lawyer's office… wish me luck!

**A/N:** I am so sorry for the lateness of this chapter… I have so much shit on my plate lately that it's been really hard to find time to post this… however, here it is and I hope you enjoy! Sorry again!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 43: The Southern Belle and the Spicy Cajun; Part 3- Truth Revealed **

**_Hallway #23, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 8:45 PM_**

After hearing what had happened to their comrades Remy and Rogue were staring in shock at their two friends.

"Wait a minute… yah're tellin' meh yah two are _stuck_ like that?" questioned Rogue, looking at her friend for a sign of denial but closed her mouth and frowned when she saw Kitty nod yes to the question.

"You too, mon ami?" Remy asked from his position against one of the dressers, a deck of cards moving through his fingers rapidly.

Lance nodded and opened his mouth to say something when he was shushed by Kitty, whose ears were pointed towards the door as she mouthed, "Someone's coming…"

Lance's ears turned towards the door as well and he mentally told his claws to extend, which Kitty did too, and Rogue and Remy stared in shock at their friend's claws, which were now three feet long and looking extremely sharp.

"Are you sure ve need to look in here, comrade?" came the low voice of Piotr as he and Jason stood outside the door to cell #23, Piotr looking like he'd rather be doing anything else at the moment while Jason's face was devoid of emotion.

"Of course," responded Jason wearily as he rubbed his temples, trying to stop the headache he felt from coming to the surface. "Magneto told us to make sure Rogue became the Horseman of Famine and that Raven reports to him… she has been missing for quite some time."

Just when Jason and Piotr were about to open the door they felt a telekinetic field slam against said door and both looked at each other in shock. Piotr changed into his metal form, metal plating covering the whole of his body. He stomped towards the door and was about to ram it open when he felt himself being held in place by some kind of psychic power. Piotr struggled to get free of the hold but found he was unable to. Jason stared in open-mouthed amazement as he saw his teammate frozen in motion.

Inside hallway #23 Kitty was desperately trying to hold off Piotr's advancement into the room. Sweat trickled down her head, her eyes closed, showing the amount of concentration it was taking her to accomplish the task at hand.

'_Lance, tell them now! I don't know how much longer I'll be able to hold them off!' _yelled Kitty as she telepathically relayed her message to Lance and didn't notice Remy start up at what he had just heard.

"Tell us what?" Remy asked, and when Lance turned to regard him with surprise on his face Remy said, "The chat (cat) said you needed to tell Rogue and Remy somethin' now… tell us."

Lance took a deep breath and said, "Well, I don't really know how to say this but… you and Rogue are two of the eight keys needed to defeat Apocalypse, who is back from the dead. Kitty and I are two of the keys; John and Wanda are two of the others. Rogue, you're the Goddess of the Wind and you have the ability to fly at the speed of light through the air, to control its motions, send mini-cyclones out of your hands, you're able to create or destroy tornadoes and hurricanes of any size, reflect any physical attack back at its creator with the same amount of force, the power of telekinesis, and create a cyclone that can transport you to anywhere you've been before, along with your original powers, which now include total control over your absorption powers.

"Remy, you're the God of Water and you can both control and create it, you can charge it with any amount of energy, control said amount, and choose whom it harms or doesn't harm, you can control any size or texture of water, telepathy, change the temperature of the water, reflect only laser-based attacks off you and back at its creator with the same amount of force, and create a small sphere of water for both transportation purposes and for attacking purposes, along with your original powers. You both can communicate with each other telepathically, have the ability to heal yourselves and others at critical times by using some of your own energy, and also copy any other mutant power you've seen, like Kitty's and my control over our claws, or our ability to turn invisible." Lance then turned invisible for a moment then became visible once more.

Lance looked over at his two friends and found them both with their mouths open, disbelief over every aspect of their faces. "Hard to believe, huh?"

"Oui," replied Remy after a moment in which he regained control over his mind and closed his mouth, Rogue doing the same. "Mais, how is dis possible? What Remy means to say is, if Remy be a lowly Swamp Rat and mon chère be a River Rat, both from dis era, then how is dis possible?"

'_Ever hear of somethin' called reincarnation, Remy?' _said Kitty telepathically, anger and exhaustion lacing her words. Remy shook his head and relayed the message to Rogue, who nodded, determination in her eyes.

"Alright, if Swamp Rat and Ah are two of the keys, with yah, Kitty, John, and Wanda bein' four others who're tha other 2?" asked Rogue as she examined her hands, snapping her fingers and causing a small wisp of air to form in the palm of her hand. Rogue was still trying to absorb the fact that she now had total control over her original powers, which had kept her from touching anyone for over a decade, with the rare exception occurring every now and then.

Lance told them the other two keys and their new powers telepathically, and then said, "Remy, you and Rogue need to find the other two keys, and quickly, because I fear one of them may be in more danger than I first realized. Remy, lead the way, as you know the complex off by heart, and Rogue— no fighting, please?" Lance gave Rogue a lopsided grin, to which Rogue stuck out her tongue. Lance's face then grew serious and he said, _'You two- turn invisible; now!'_

Rogue and Remy nodded and a second later they turned invisible and just in time as Kitty fell to the floor, not having the energy to keep Piotr out of the room any longer. Lance ran over to her and cradled her in his arms, praying her healing factor would restore her energy quickly.

Piotr, meanwhile, had felt the telekinetic powers being used on him end, and he regained control over his body. Piotr backed up once more and this time successfully rammed into the door, causing a resounding 'thud' to echo throughout the complex, alerting Pietro that something had gone wrong. The mutant sped out of hallway #11, having been watching Lexie scream in agony and desperately wishing he could somehow help her (without getting caught and skinned to death), and sped towards hallway #23.

Remy and Rogue carefully crept out of the hallway and into the main corridor, Remy using his new water transportation powers to teleport them to the infirmary so he and Rogue could quickly grab some supplies for helping the victims.


	45. Battle between Two Celestial

**Disclaimer: **Well… my attempts to use Pyro's powers have left me slightly burned… is that a third degree burn on my arm?! I also feel the need to stay away from any kind of water…

**A/N:** I am so sorry for the lateness of this chapter… I have so much shit on my plate lately that it's been really hard to find time to post this, including homework, papers, projects, exams, and so much stuff that my mind feels like it's going to explode! Before that happens, enjoy this chapter!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 44: Battle between Two Celestial Beings, Quicksilver, Colossus, and Mastermind **

_**Hallway #23, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 9:15 PM** _

Jason and Piotr stared in openmouthed shock at the two creatures that were before them, one of them obviously female, the other male, both with wings and tails. The male snarled at the two intruders and raised his claw, which had nails that suddenly extended to stop at the edge of Piotr and Jason's throats, razor-sharp.

Just as the creature was about to ram his nails into the two mutants' throats, his snarl faded and was replaced with one of embarrassment. He retracted his nails and helped the female to her feet, then got into a fighting stance.

"Vhat are you?" asked Piotr slowly, trying to convince his mind that the female in front of him was not his crush Kitty Pryde, if only because she didn't look like the woman at all.

"We are mutants, like you, except that we are evolved mutants," replied the purple creature as she stepped forward, a claw offered in friendship. Piotr's eyes widened, and he quickly back-stepped, almost stumbling into Pietro, who had just arrived and was just staring at the green creature that looked vaguely familiar.

Kitty frowned; she could sense that Piotr didn't trust her and she knew she shouldn't be surprised, but damn, it still hurt. _'Lance, we need to do something to convince them that we are not the bad guys in this scenario; we are the good guys and they are too.'_

'_I know… maybe my plan'll work,'_ replied Lance as he took a deep breath and stepped forward, causing a small tremor to run under Pietro's feet. The pale-skinned speed demon's eyes widened as he finally knew why the creature was familiar— it was his best friend.

"Lance, buddy, please don't tell me that's you," Pietro whispered fearfully as he took a step towards his best friend; or rather, sometimes best friend.

"It's me, Speedy, and this was caused by your father's henchman Sabretooth.," Lance said, a frown marring his face.

Just as Pietro was about to reply, Piotr pushed him aside roughly in his metal form. "You are an impostor; Katchya would never become such a hideous beast!"

Piotr threw a punch at the purple creature, but was surprised to find himself stumbling when he missed his target. He felt a magnetic field take hold of him, and felt the metal being forced to retract into his body. Piotr screamed in pain and fell to his knees, heavily panting. Jason blinked, thinking he had just seen an illusion, but then realized that he had indeed seen the purple creature speed out of Piotr's range, and the green creature cast a magnetic field over the Russian mutant.

"Pietro, listen to me…" began Lance, but was quickly forced back when Pietro sped into him, ramming him into the wall behind him.

"Why should I? You lied to me… you make it seem like you don't care about me, no matter how many times I try to convince you that I worked with my father to protect you, and yet you never forgive me or give me any leniency. You are the true traitor to the Brotherhood and not me! At-least-I-don't-fall-in-love-with-an-X-Geek-and-do-anything-I-can-to-win-her-affections;-even-if-it-means-abandoning-the-only-family-I-have-ever-really-known!" Pietro had tears coming out of his eyes as he kept punching Lance in the chest, tearing at the uniform, shredding it to pieces in the process, along with ripping the earth shaker's helmet off and throwing it to the ground. Lance hung his head, waiting for his chance to retaliate.

Kitty, meanwhile, had her hands on her forehead and was trying to battle Jason and bring his defenses down so she could knock him out cold. Jason couldn't believe it— this was one of the hardest battles he had ever fought. Jason could feel the sweat trickling down his forehead and into his eyes, but he didn't blink, knowing that if he did he would lose.

"Please listen to us! Magneto's using you; everyone here's in real danger… he's back…" screamed Kitty as she tried to win the battle against Jason, but suddenly felt her mind turn blank as her eyes rolled back in her head. She fell to the ground, unconscious, and Piotr took a mutation inhibition collar from the bookshelf in the room, activating it as he placed it on her neck so that Kitty wouldn't be able to use her powers.

"Kitty!" Lance screamed as he saw his girlfriend fall unconscious, and his eyes began to glow a dangerous green. The metal in the room began to glow the same color as Lance's eyes and began flying towards the speed demon. Pietro noticed his friend's eye color but didn't think anything of it until he heard Jason yelling to turn around. When Pietro did, he was hit by a collection of CDs, causing him to stop punching Lance to hold his nose, which was now bleeding profusely. Lance took the opportunity to fire more metal objects at the speed demon, while at the same time using his telepathy to knock Jason out cold. Like Kitty, Lance didn't sense Piotr behind him until it was too late and Piotr, who had his two fists together, hit Lance in the back of his head. Lance fell to his knees, his eyes returning to their chocolate brown color, and he mouthed Kitty's name before falling unconscious. Piotr took out another mutant inhibition collar and snapped it around Lance's neck a little more roughly than he had with Kitty, and activated it.

"My god-how-in-the-world-did-they-get-so-strong?" asked Pietro, his voice sounding like he had inhaled some helium because of the high pitch, caused by his broken nose.

Piotr shook his head and replied, "I don't know, comrade. But, however they got like this it appears they will not be returning to normal soon." Piotr gestured to the two mutants, who were still in their creature forms, even with their mutation inhibition devices on.

"Will you imbeciles get me out of here?!" hissed Raven from her position on the bed. The three mutants hadn't seen her during the fight.

Piotr shrugged and walked over to the shape-shifter, snapping the metal bonds in half without a problem. Raven smirked evilly, and quickly changed into three small rhinos, but with adult-sized horns. Each rhino snorted at a mutant and charged. Jason, having come out of his unconscious state just a minute ago, hadn't had a chance to recover from Lance's psychic blast and was hit dead on. Pietro used his speed to get away, but the rhino simply sped up and rammed the speed demon in the back, causing him to land on his stomach and bruise a couple of ribs. Piotr armored up, caught Raven by the horns, and picked her up, the rhino's eyes wide in shock. He then body-slammed her to the ground, and thought he had won, but was caught in another magnetic field. He looked at the door, and saw a pissed-off Erik. Raven had disappeared.

"What in the hell is going on here?!" roared Erik as he surveyed the scene. He saw Pietro and Jason out cold, Piotr in his magnetic field, and two creatures were on the ground. Wait… _creatures?!_ Erik released Piotr, who was now gasping for breath. He turned over the purple creature, and saw to his utmost surprise the phaser Shadowcat. He then flipped the green creature over and saw it was Avalanche—the traitor. Just as Erik was about to walk out of the hallway like nothing had happened, he felt Apocalypse enter his head and give him orders to take all five mutants to cells. Erik nodded in acquiescence, and fashioned a metal stretcher, upon which he loaded the now conscious Piotr, trapped in another magnetic field, the two creatures, and Jason. He carried Pietro in his arms, noting the broken nose and the quickly drying blood on his face. Erik felt love and compassion well up for his son; his only son whom he had treated like dirt ever since he was six. He quickly squashed the emotions as he left the cell, his son in his arms and the other four mutants following him on the metal stretcher.


	46. Fears of the Imprisoned, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **… I don't think my attempts to use Pyro's powers have worn off… I have officially been banned from the kitchen due to my new appreciation for fire…

**A/N:** … I am getting sick of apologizing to you guys, who are so loyal and awesome for sticking with me… Just so you know, I am officially on summer break, and now I'll hopefully have way more time to write. So, I just want to thank you for sticking with me, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 45: Fears of the Imprisoned, Part 2 **

_**Hallway #14-20, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 10:05 PM** _

In hallway #14, Rahne tried to change into her werewolf form in an attempt to block out the images in her head but found that every time she tried resulted in the pain getting worse. She settled for howling in pain as images wrecked havoc on her mind. Rahne first imagined that she was back with her adoptive mother Moira McTaggert and her fiancé Sean Cassidy. Rahne was playing with some of the younger mutants who lived with Moira and Sean when she sensed a storm coming in from the north. Rahne hurried everyone inside and then stepped back outside. She sniffed the air, and tensed when she felt electricity jolt through her. Rahne instantly howled a warning, but before she could do anything else felt lightning streak past her and hit the research facility behind her. Rahne spun around and held back sobs as she watched her home away from home burst into flames. Rahne changed into her werewolf form and leapt towards the flames, hoping to try and find some way through the flames to save her family. Rahne ran around the complex, howling desperately, hoping to hear someone in response. After nearly ten minutes, Rahne finally realized that her attempts were futile, and she collapsed, drained of energy, and shifted back into her human form. Rahne burst into tears, realizing that her family had perished before her eyes and she had done nothing to save them.

Rahne then saw herself out on a romantic date with her boyfriend Roberto at a restaurant in downtown New York City. After dinner and some champagne, Roberto got out of his seat, and, kneeling on one knee, asked Rahne to marry him. Rahne felt small tears of joy running down her cheeks, and just as she was about to say yes, both mutants heard a whirring sound. Roberto got to his feet, and faced the restaurant's entrance, Rahne behind him. A Sentinel burst through the bay window, sending shattered glass all over. Roberto shot solar rays out of his hands at the robot, but they were just absorbed by the creature. Rahne began to morph, but before she could Roberto had shifted into his solar persona and flown up towards the robot, anger flashing in his eyes. Rahne shifted into her werewolf form, and prepared to leap at the robot but never did as she saw her boyfriend suddenly freeze in mid-motion. Rahne began to smell blood and sensed that it was from Roberto; she was right. Just as she was about to run and catch Roberto's body, she felt a searing pain from her stomach; she looked down and noticed that a large hole was where her stomach would usually be. Rahne felt her energy leaving her, and she collapsed, her eyes still focused on the now mangled body of Roberto that lay in front of her, his normally bright black eyes dull and glazed over.

Alex screamed as he saw himself being attacked by a Great White Shark in a surfing incident that was almost an exact replica of when he had first acquired his powers. Alex tried to paddle away from the shark, but his surfboard got caught on a barrier reef. After a few minutes of struggling to get his surfboard free, with every second bringing the shark closer, Alex resorted to trying to shoot energy beams out of his hands at the sea predator but found himself unable to. Alex tried time and again but failed as the beams refused to come, and his eyes widened when he saw the shark's mouth full of jagged, white teeth come closer and closer. In desperation, Alex finally jumped off the board and tried to swim to shore, which appeared to be about ten feet away. Just when he was about to reach land, however, he felt the shark overtake him and drag him back out to sea, where he was eaten alive.

Alex then saw himself at a small reunion held at the Institute. Along with his friends, Alex's adoptive parents, the Masters, and Lorna's sister had come as well. Alex stood with Lorna, her sister Diane, Scott, Jean, and some of his friends near the banquet table. Alex was having fun, paying compliments to Lorna and her sister as he talked with the small crowd around him, when all of a sudden the gates to the Institute swung open. Alex looked to the entrance to the school grounds and grew angry when he saw the FOH there, brandishing laser weapons, pitchforks, conventional weapons, and signs protesting the existence of mutants.. Xavier rolled forward and tried to reason with the invaders, but failed when he was shot in the chest and fell from his wheelchair to the lawn. The mutants there launched their attacks at the humans in retaliation, but the FOH pulled out a small device and negated all of the mutant powers present. Many of the mutants then launched into hand-to-hand combat, with Alex being one of those fighters, and as he fought he saw laser beams headed towards Lorna and her sister. Alex broke off his fight and ran towards the two women, taking the laser beams in the chest, but saw that they passed through him and still killed the women. Alex screamed in pain as he saw this and then fell unconscious, hearing Scott and his adoptive parents' screams of death before doing so.

In hallway #15, Leon could only scream in pain as he saw his mentor Todd being hung by his ankles by Erik, who was punishing the amphibious mutant for yet another attempt at gaining Wanda's affections. Leon tried to reason with the metal-wielding mutant to let Todd down, as his face was quickly turning blue then red as the blood rushed to his head. Erik ignored the pleas of mercy coming from the younger mutant and continued to hold Todd up by his ankles. After an hour or so Erik released Todd and walked away. Leon ran over to Todd, whose breathing was shallow. Leon tried to perform CPR to save Todd, but when Todd stopped breathing Leon began to cry silently over the one person who had treated him like he was really worth something and who had saved him from a life of a homeless teenager.

The image then switched to when Leon was playing poker with Remy, Piotr, and John, the latter having decided to try his luck. Just when Leon had won the game for the fifth time, the door to the Boardinghouse slammed open and Leon's parents walked in as if they owned the place. Leon's eyes filled with fear when his parents reached out to him and tried to convince him to return to being a thief. Remy tried to intervene on Leon's part, but before he could even begin to try and negotiate he was shot in the chest and fell backwards onto the floor, blood seeping into the carpet. Leon screamed in rage and morphed into a grizzly bear and began to run towards his parents, who aimed four pistols in front of him. Just when Leon had reached them he felt a searing pain in his chest and fell backwards, morphing into his human form as he did so. He then heard his parents' insane laughter as they shot all the Brotherhood and Acolyte members in the room and then left. Leon continued to hear their laughter mixed with his teammates' moans of agony as he faded into unconsciousness.

Lynn could only scream as she saw herself being poked fun at in her hometown because of her hair. Not another person in the town had her exact shade of red hair, and she was often made fun of because of it. When Lynn begged them to stop, they only continued to harass her. After a particularly gruesome incident, she finally couldn't take it anymore and screamed, chunks of ice exiting her mouth. When she stopped she saw through her tears that she had frozen all of her tormentors, along with her parents. Lynn was hunted down and burned at the stake for being a mutant.

Lynn then saw herself relaxing by the pool when the Brotherhood and Acolytes attacked. Lynn joined forces with Laura and began to fight, but soon found herself up against Pyro, who was slowly advancing with a firewall in front of him. Lynn and Laura backed up and then felt themselves get hit by hex bolts from the Scarlet Witch and plastic bullets from Shot. Laura fell unconscious while Lynn still stood, badly hurt. She managed to freeze the Scarlet Witch and Shot but then felt herself get hit by a large animal. When Lynn looked up from the ground she saw a giant black bear, which then morphed into a teen male about her age. Lynn watched in fear as he shifted again into a giant lion and, baring his fangs, lunged at her, making sure she never saw the light of day again.

In hallway #16, the newly captured Kitty had regained conscious and was now screaming in pain as she watched her parents, who were now divorced and living with other people, come to visit, and soon found themselves in the middle of a battle between the mutants and the FOH. Kitty desperately tried to make her way over to her parents and save them, but was held up by two members who tried to take her away. Kitty phased through them, causing their hearts to stop, and ran over to her parents but found them dead, blood seeping from their bodies from numerous laser wounds. Kitty shut down and became lifeless, her eyes losing all spark of life as she fell to her knees and mourned her parents, not hearing Lance call her name or the laser beams heading towards her.

The image then switched, showing herself on a date with Lance. She was having a great time. She was telling a story about what some of her students had accidentally "hacked" into and was giggling the whole time. Lance put his arms around his girlfriend and kissed the top of her head, and Kitty snuggled into his embrace. They sat there, enjoying the day, but were startled when they heard the bushes rattle behind them. Lance and Kitty got to their feet and got ready to fight, but were unprepared when Kitty saw what looked like Scott's eye beams shoot out and catch Lance in the chest. Kitty screamed his name as he fell to his knees and ran to help, but was held back by telekinesis. Kitty looked behind her and saw a smirking Scott and Jean Summers. Kitty couldn't believe they'd go and break them up again; not when she had made them promise to leave Lance and her alone. Kitty tried to phase out of Jean's grip, but couldn't, and could only watch with tears streaming down her face as Lance was shot again and again with Scott's beams, unable to retaliate. Finally, Scott stopped and Kitty screamed when she saw Lance's body flat on the ground, still smoking from Scott's numerous attacks. Kitty felt Jean's grip loosen, and she ran over to Lance and fell to her knees, crying. She didn't hear Scott and Jean leave, both of them chuckling as they knew their job was done – that Lance was eliminated from Kitty's life forever.

Lance, now having just regained consciousness, could only hear himself as he screamed in agony, his powers going out of control. Lance could only watch as he saw a younger version of himself being sucked into the ground by his powers, him not having any control over them. He then watched as he came back as an adult years later, his powers under control but the life from him gone. Lance shivered as he saw the shell of himself begin to wreck havoc on the world, not caring who he hurt, not caring that he called the magma up from the earth's core and caused the earth's core to heat to such an extent that the earth began to implode, and closed his eyes as he saw the evil smirk that plastered itself on Lance's face as he watched the earth begin to implode, his evil side showing what it was capable of.

Lance then saw himself on a picnic near the ocean with Kitty, and they were thoroughly enjoying themselves when they got a communication from Logan telling them they needed to return to the Institute right away. When Lance and Kitty got to the school, they found it deserted. Kitty phased them inside, and they were met with the charred and bloody bodies of their friends, including the Brotherhood and Acolytes. Both Lance and Kitty were shocked to see this sight, and Kitty buried her face in Lance's shirt. Both were too shocked to sense someone's presence behind them. Lance felt himself get stabbed in the back with a dagger and screamed in pain, but when he turned to see who had hurt him his eyes widened when he saw Erik with a metal stake against Kitty's neck. Lance tried to get to her but the pain from his back wound was too intense. Lance tried to use his magnetic powers to take the metal stake from Erik, but before he could Erik stabbed it into Kitty's chest, killing her instantly. Lance grew angrier than he had ever been before and grabbed metal from around Erik. He then formed it into metal arrows and was about to shoot them at the man when he felt himself get stabbed again. Lance turned around and saw Raven there, smiling. Lance's eyes widened in disbelief, and he felt himself fall to the floor, the life draining out of the two large back wounds in large amounts of blood.

Amanda Sefton, one of the few humans that the X-Men trusted completely, was also screaming in pain, but unlike the others did not have a mutation inhibition collar on, the reason being that no one outside of the Xavier Institute knew that Amanda was a sorceress. The only reason Erik had kidnapped her in the first place was as an incentive for Kurt to do his bidding; that is, if he chose to use Kurt as something more than an entertainment value while he was a prisoner.

Amanda saw herself training with her mother Magali when Kurt showed up unexpectedly and begged for the two female sorceresses for their help in quelling an FOH attack on both the Institute and the Brotherhood house. Amanda got ready to go, but before she was out the door she turned back to see if Magali was coming. When she saw Magali standing in the house, not having moved an inch, she tried to convince her mother to come and help but Magali resolutely refused. When Kurt added in with his pleas, Magali seemed to lose her mind and shot magic at the mutant. Kurt screamed in pain as he felt his mind being torn apart, with Magali's help of course. Amanda screamed and tried to reverse the process, but no matter what she yelled at her mother, nothing changed; Magali was still attacking Kurt without regret. Amanda began to sob uncontrollably when she realized her mother had killed her boyfriend, and the last thing she remembered before running was Kurt's lifeless body on the floor of her living room.

The scene switched to Amanda's helping the X-Sword team adjust to life outside the Institute's walls so that they would be able to see that even though they were mutants, they could still act like normal teenagers. While taking the girls to a clothing store, she felt her head begin to hurt. She clutched it and fell to the floor, the girls gathering around her, asking if she was okay. Amanda looked up and saw their worried looks, and knew something was wrong with her but it felt like… like she wasn't there. She saw herself use her powers to kill off the girls one by one, laughing all the while. Kurt and the boys soon showed up and, although he tried to stop her he failed when his charges were killed too, followed by his long and painful death, Amanda laughing evilly as she performed the deed.

In hallway #17 Mark tried to act brave and keep his emotions in check ,but failed when the images in his head got much worse. Mark could feel the jabs of his classmates after he returned from the field trip with his green-toned skin. "Hey mutie, you get into the plant-growing business?" jabbed his best friend Dale Girot. Mark's eyes glowed green and he tensed up, getting ready to shoot vines out at the aggressors and pin them in place. Mark stopped as he heard his girlfriend say, "Mark, or should I say Vine-Man now? Anyway, thought that you'd want to know that we are done. I can't risk my reputation by being seen with you, now can I?" Mark turned around and his now green-blue eyes met the olive green ones of his now ex-girlfriend Samantha Zam. Mark reached out to her, trying to grab her and reassure her that he was the same person. But that didn't happen. Instead, vines shot out of his fingers and pinned Samantha to the wall of the hallway where she yelled and struggled to get free. Dale jumped to her aid and tried to pull the vines off her, but instead managed to get himself pinned to the wall as well. Mark was too shocked to even try and control his powers but by the time he realized that he could retract the vines it was too late. His ex-best friend and ex-girlfriend were both dead, blood staining the school hallway.

Mark's mind switched to his family. Amazingly, they were on good terms and had accepted him for him. Mark was at a family reunion, and they were chatting amiably, grilling hot dogs and hamburgers. Just as Mark was about to go and greet his cousin Andrew explosions began to rain down on them from what appeared to be a large, dark red robot. Mark threw up a vine barrier and did his absolute best to protect his family, but the barrier became weaker and weaker with each consecutive hit. Finally, only Mark and Andrew were left. Mark lowered the barrier, and saw the havoc around him, including the burned bodies of his family. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out and Mark froze, then turned around and saw Andrew dead on the ground, a small bullet hole present in the back of his head. Mark looked up into the steel-gray eyes of Shot, and before he could react saw her shoot another bullet out of her hand and it struck him right between the eyes. Mark saw no more.

Opal screamed at the top of her lungs as the pain engulfed her mind, urging her to release her anger, but finding she couldn't do anything but scream. Opal watched as the gentleman Erik had been to her when she first came to the Brotherhood house changed into an evil man, bent on world destruction. Opal, the Brotherhood and Acolytes teamed together in an attempt to kill Erik and Raven. Opal shot off round after round of bullets while Wanda used her hexes to try to stop the two mutants' powers. After what seemed like a lifetime, the smoke cleared and Opal saw herself as the only one left standing, with Erik and Raven slowly advancing on her. She looked and saw all of her teammates dead, including Wanda, who was curled up in a ball, John's body draped protectively over her. Opal found herself staring into the ice-blue eyes of Erik and the yellow ones of Raven and she found for the first time absolute fear. Opal was frozen in place; she couldn't move even if she wanted to, and the last thing she remembered was staring once more into those ice-blue eyes.

Opal's images then switched to her family, who had all but disowned her when her powers emerged. Just as they were about to kick her out of her home and the only life she'd ever known, something inside her snapped. She swung around and instead of yelling at her parents like she had before she aimed all ten fingers at them and fired off a dozen rounds into each family member's body. When Opal regained control of herself, she stared in horror at what she had done. Her whole family was lying at her feet, their bodies sporting numerous bullet holes, their life-blood seeping slowly out of their bodies and staining her white sneakers a deep crimson. Opal heard sirens and tried to run, but was instantly surrounded by the police. When she tried to escape she felt her arms being held behind her back and struggled to get free, in the process accidentally shooting the officer behind her. Opal screamed as she felt the police breaking her wrists so she could no longer access her powers, and felt the tears burn down her face as the officers aimed their guns at her. Opal didn't run; she knew she was done for, and indeed, a moment later she felt nothing but pain and darkness envelop her.

In hallway #18, Ross tried to stay brave, like he had been taught, but failed as he saw himself go into a berzerker mode that his legendary samurai ancestors had had. Rose's eyes glowed dark red, and he changed his arms into two samurai swords, and he ran throughout the Institute, slashing every person or object he came across. When he reached the end of his rampage, only a badly wounded Brittany was left. Ross looked at her and raised his arms in the air, mentally telling his blades to merge into one huge sword. Ross's ears let in the faint pleas of his friend, her words slowly traveling to his brain to try and get him to regain his sanity and then to his heart. Ross could feel his senses slowly returning to him, but before he regained full control over his emotions and body he saw himself bring his blade down and into Brittany's chest. Ross cried out in pain at the same time Brittany did, and could watch as he pulled out her heart on the tip of his blade, his hot tears now falling to mix with the flowing blood of one of his best friends in America.

Ross then saw himself back in Tokyo and on the same day he had discovered he was a mutant. However, instead of managing to escape the bullies unharmed like before, he saw himself, like through a dream, slash his swords at the bullies' chests, cutting them wide open. Ross's eyes widened when he realized that he was no longer himself; he was a monster. Ross's arms slowly changed back to normal, and he raced away from the murder scene, tears burning in his eyes. When he got home, he encountered his angry parents, who blamed him for the murders and banished him from his home. Ross's anger once more overtook him, and he slashed his arms at his parents, murdering them instantly. Ross then ran, but was eventually captured by the police and executed for his crimes.

Brittany could only feel the hot tears as they rolled down her cheeks as she watched herself fail her teammates in battle. Brittany saw her team in a simulation where she was the radio transmitter for her whole team. When the time came for her to do her job, she froze, her voice lodged in her throat. After her teammates called out to her for what seemed like hours but was only ten minutes, Brittany snapped out of her daze and tried to talk with Tyne, but found that her radio wasn't working; the only thing she heard was static. It was the same with all of the other radios. Brittany panicked and abandoned her post, racing into the Danger Room and suddenly stopping when she saw her whole team on the floor, dead. Brittany knew it was her fault, and she sank to her knees, crying hysterically as she felt her friends' dreams and aspirations fall on her shoulders and give her the responsibility to carry them out. Brittany cried as she realized just what she had done.

Brittany next saw herself back on her family's farm in Indianapolis, Indiana and she watched as she led her brother's favorite horse out to the paddock. When Brittany got there she saw a wild wolf prowling the perimeter of the paddock. The horse she was leading reared up and Brittany struggled to control the massive creature while at the same time shoo the wolf away. The wolf merely advanced closer to the young teen, its jaws bared fiercely. The horse continued to rear up on its legs while Brittany desperately tried to calm it down, but to no avail. Suddenly the wolf pounced and bit the horse on the neck, tapping directly into its jugular vein and killing it instantly. Brittany tripped over herself as she ran back to the barn, and when she told her family what had happened found that they did not believe her. When she yelled at them to believe her the wolf, which had followed its prey back to its den – the barn – pounced on Brittany's family and massacred them. Brittany could only watch in horror as she saw her whole world crumble in front of her in the span of thirty minutes.

In hallway #19, Laura saw herself once more at her junior prom where she was slow dancing with her now ex-boyfriend of six months Troy Black. Troy leaned down to kiss her and Laura responded eagerly, but when she was suddenly bumped she felt a beam of energy emerge from her eyes and hit Troy directly in the chest, killing him instantly. Laura couldn't shut her eyes like last time, and she could only watch and hear as she killed all of her classmates, and heard their screams of pain and death. When Laura could finally shut her eyes, she heard police sirens and since she couldn't see couldn't move. Laura heard the officers come in and tell her her rights as she was arrested for one hundred counts of first-degree murder. Laura's eyes dripped down wet tears as she bemoaned her curse and the loss of life at her hands.

Laura then saw herself at the Institute, sitting in front of the TV watching a movie that she had always had an obsession with – _The Phantom of the Opera_. Laura's crush Aaron took a seat beside her, and they watched the movie together, Laura's eyes misting when the phantom let his love go to the man she truly loved and left. When the movie ended, Laura had her head on Aaron's shoulder and he was stroking her platinum-blond hair. Suddenly, a rumbling was heard and the walls began to cave in on the two teenagers. Laura and Aaron were both caught under the rubble, and when the smoke cleared both were trapped, their hands intertwined. Aaron smiled and said, "Laura, even if I don't survive I want you to live…" Aaron then transferred all his energy to Laura and after he had finished his task died, unaware of Laura's screams of pain. Laura couldn't believe that Aaron had given his life to save hers, and before she could even tell him how she felt; she knew she would live with the pain and guilt forever.

Aaron screamed as he saw a slow-motion replay of the accident in which his powers had emerged. However, unlike the last time, he was unable to reach his parents in time, and they died in front of his eyes. Aaron screamed as he felt their life forces cease to exist in his realm and move on to the next, and then collapsed himself, waking up a few weeks later as an orphan and an outsider. Aaron ran away from foster home after foster home until he began to get involved with drugs, and eventually got caught by the authorities for selling weed to young children. Aaron cringed as he felt the brutal sting of the whip as he was punished for his actions and then left to rot in a prison cell in the California State Jail.

Aaron's mind then focused on a scene from a few days ago, when he and Laura were relaxing by the pool at the Institute, enjoying the company each other provided. When Aaron was about to ask Laura out the skies suddenly darkened and lightning flashed angrily above them. Laura refused to go inside the mansion, not taking notice of the lightning above her, and so Aaron offered to stay outside with her. After a few minutes, lighting suddenly forked out of the sky and struck Laura dead on. The mutant collapsed to the ground, unaware that Aaron was now desperately trying to save her life by using her powers. Aaron couldn't touch her skin without getting burned from the temperature that the lighting had caused her body to become. Aaron had to wait for five minutes before he could even try to revive her, but no matter how hard he tried he failed, as she was too far-gone. Aaron was left crying over the dead body of his crush, the tears mixing with the rain from above.

In hallway #20, Devon tried his best to keep up his nonchalant attitude but failed as the pain in his mind overtook him and he gave in to the screaming that had been threatening to erupt. Devon once more saw himself out on the ocean, surfing the deep blue sea, but this time he was with Alex and his girlfriend Lorna. Devon grinned at the two and saw a massive wave heading his way and, being his cocky self while surfing quickly paddled out to meet the wave. Devon stood up and began to move along the wave's crest, doing his best to impress one of his best friends at the Institute and his surfing companion. Devon was having a swell time when he saw a huge white fin heading for both Alex and Lorna, and instantly recognized it as a Great White Shark's dorsal fin. Devon tried to yell out a warning, but the rushing water around him drowned his voice out. Devon morphed into a Killer Whale and swam as fast as he could towards Alex and Lorna, roaring out an alarm, but he was too late. Devon pulled up and could only watch as the shark tore into Lorna, her once bright green hair now streaked with blood. Alex shot dark green energy beams at the shark while trying to gently pull Lorna onto his board, but the shark merely swam right through the energy beams and rammed into Alex and Lorna, tossing them into the sea. Devon couldn't move; he was frozen as he watched the events unfold, but only when he heard Alex's screams of pain as the shark tore into him and dragged both him and Lorna under the surface did he break out of his trance. Devon dove under water and desperately looked for the two mutants, but when he couldn't find them broke the ocean's surface and changed back into his human form, the tears running down his face as he realized that it was because of his failure to warn Alex and Lorna that they were now dead.

Devon next saw himself in a repeat of the battle in which he had just recently participated. Devon watched in slow motion as he once more pushed Erica out of the way of Gambit's attack and, like before, she swatted his hand away and told him to leave her alone. This time, Devon saw another attack coming, and pushed Erica out of the way again only to be once more rebuked for his actions. Erica then took off for the other side of the Danger Room, and Devon could only feel his blood boil; didn't she realize that he was only trying to protect her because he cared about her? Obviously not. Devon shook his head and ran after Erica again, but felt a chill shoot down his spine when he saw Erica slump to the ground. Devon ran over to Erica and gently put her head in his lap, his eyes widening as he felt and saw the dark red blood that ran from a sharp head wound in Erica's head. Devon tried to stop the bleeding but couldn't; his senses from being able to morph into a shark sensed the amount of blood that was lost, and he knew it was too late. Devon let the tears silently fall down his face as he mourned the fate of his crush.

Erica screamed as the pain in her head increased tenfold because she was unable to reflect it back at someone or something. Erica's mind brought up images of when she had been bullied when she was younger, and at this time she had had no way of defending herself. Erica watched as the biggest bully – JP Brown – advanced on her menacingly. This was when Erica was only thirteen years old, and no matter how hard Erica tried she couldn't outrun the bully. Erica looked back over her shoulder and tripped over a brick, twisting her ankle. JP stopped in front of her and knelt so he was eye level with her. He softly told her what he was going to do to her, and Erica closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to watch what he was doing to her and to her body.

The scene switched to an incident in the rec. room earlier that week when Devon had run into the room, grabbed the remote from Erica's hand, and changed the channel to surfing. Erica consequently became pissed at the action and tackled the shape-shifter, grappling for the remote, but failed when Devon tossed her to the ground. Erica pretended to be knocked out and when Devon leaned closer to see if she was all right, she pulled him off the couch and they ended up staring into each other's eyes. Both unconsciously leaned in for a kiss, but instead of the kiss happening, a stream of lasers blew past Erica's closed eyes and she heard Devon scream. Erica's eyes shot open, and what she saw was seared into her memory – Devon's eyes were wide open in shock as a gaping hole in both his head and chest were leaking blood, and Erica instantly knew he was dead. Her eyes closed once more as the Devon's blood dripped onto her and she shook with silent tears at her friend's loss.


	47. Lucas vs the Horseman of War

**Disclaimer:** I've been allowed back into the kitchen, considering I can no longer control fire, but right now I think I'm going to see if I can hack into the lawyers' databases and get my certificate that way…

**A/N:** All I can say is that trying to balance work, reading, and writing is hard, but I really do appreciate everyone who has stuck with me. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 46: Lucas vs. the Horseman of War **

**_General Hallways, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 10:55 PM_**

Remy and Rogue had just finished getting the necessary supplies out of the infirmary when Rogue stopped Remy, doubts clouding her mind.

"Remy?" Rogue asked as she stared into the man's eyes her own reflecting the amount of emotions running through her at that moment.

"Wha's wrong, chére?" Remy asked, lifting a gloved hand to her cheek, cupping it as he watched her eyes fill with continuous emotion.

"It's just…. just that… what if what Kitty and Lance said 'bout meh wasn't true? What if Ah can' really touch? Wha' if…" Rogue rambled for what seemed like eternity until she felt Remy's lips touch her own. Forgetting all about what she had been about to say she wrapped her arms around Remy's neck and kissed him back. Both were unaware of the small cyclone of wind and water that was surrounding them and both were unaware that they were being watched.

"Tha's them, right?" asked a male, who looked to be in his late twenties with shoulder-length dark blond hair and black eyes, complete with a small goatee. His eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings and his hands began to glow with light purple energy. His eyes finally landed on his companion, who was looking like he'd rather be dead than alive.

"Oh yeah, that's them. I'd recognize that ass-Cajun's scent anywhere," came a snarled reply from his companion, who stepped out of the shadows to be revealed as a very alive looking Sabretooth.

Lucas Haller, or as he liked to be called Legion, shrugged and quickly adjusted his black vest, which was part of his uniform. His uniform consisted of black leather pants, a black muscle tank, a black, long-sleeved vest with a few silver chains hanging from it and from his pants, black boots, and gloves. The final touch to his uniform was a silver medallion with a serpent in a dragon's mouth, something he felt told people who he was and how he was going to get revenge on his father, Xavier, who'd abandoned both he and his mother and didn't contact them again for nineteen years, with the more powerful dragon swallowing the cunning snake.

"So, now tha' we know it's them what do we do?" Lucas asked, his hands once more resuming their light purple glow, signaling he was ready to attack.

Sabretooth shrugged and examined his claws, lengthening them a bit. Lucas looked at Sabretooth with a bored look on his face.

"Must ye do tha', ye big pussy cat?" Lucas shook his head in despair and resumed watching the southern couple, who were still lip-locked.

Sabretooth ignored the obvious jab at his new powers and chose to glare at the younger mutant. "Does it really matter what I do? Shouldn't you be concentrated on doing your job according to Master Apocalypse's instructions?"

Lucas rolled his eyes at Sabretooth's words but did pause to think for a moment. Was it really worth being Apocalypse's Horseman of Famine when the once dead mutant who was behind him was brought back to life and promised revenge on Avalanche for killing him in the first place if he became the Horseman of War? This was something that Sabretooth had agreed to instantly; that is, so long as he obeyed Apocalypse without hesitation. Lucas, on the other hand, had been alive from the get-go, and therefore had to choose between becoming stronger and being able to have his revenge on his father for abandoning his family or try and patch things up and make his mother proud. He had, of course, been a power-hungry bastard and chosen the first option, only to find out a minute later that he was second choice; that is, Raven's bitch-of-an adopted daughter had been first choice and had escaped attempts to become said Horseman, so he was the next best thing. Of course, this all led to him having second doubts, which felt strange… almost as if something was telling him that he had chosen the wrong path to follow. Ah, who cared, so long as he had the power he needed, true?

Lucas shook his head to clear his mind of stray thoughts and focused once more on the scene before him, only to blink in surprise when he saw that no one was there…

"Wha' the fuckin' hell?!" Lucas cursed angrily, his hands glowing an even brighter shade of light purple and he threw his hands in the air above him, letting loose all control over his telekinesis. Lucas was too focused on releasing his rage, and therefore failed to notice that his telekinesis caused Sabretooth to be lifted in the air and flung down the length of the hallway and into a steel door.

"Damn it Legion what the hell was that for?!" Sabretooth growled as he got to his feet and ran the length of the hallway, planning on ramming into the telepath and sending him flying a good fifty feet. Lucas feigned fear on seeing Sabretooth running towards him, and just before the large cat was going to hit him, he took to the air and watched with smug satisfaction as the feral mutant rammed into the steel door of the infirmary, subsequently getting his head caught in the door.

"Nae reason, laddie." Lucas smirked as he watched Sabretooth desperately try and get his head free, muffled curses making their way through the steel door. "Except tae see ye suffer; tha's all." Lucas smiled and floated off down the hall, whistling as he went, extremely pleased with being the cause of Sabretooth's misery. Now, to go and await Master Apocalypse's next round of orders, and carry them out without having to hear that annoying thing that had been labeled for years as a conscience…


	48. Interlude: Apocalypse’s Chec

**Disclaimer: **Still working on hacking into the lawyers' databases… I've gotten past the first firewall, and onto the second one…

**A/N:** Since this chapter is so short, I'm going to upload another one, for your entertainment. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 47: Interlude: Apocalypse's Checklist **

**_General Hallways, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 11:05 PM_**

As Apocalypse walked through the menagerie of halls located in his complex, he thought about who he was going to choose as the last Horseman of Apocalypse – the Horseman of Death. Apocalypse surveyed his list of acquired mutants so far. He had already destroyed the pitiful excuse of a twin brother of Mesmero when he had been released ((Thomas Five- my character)) – check; captured all the X-Men – check; had almost all the Brotherhood in cages suffering the same fates as the X-Men – check; had Erik under total control – check; had 3 Horsemen out of 4, with Raven was Pestilence, Lucas was Famine, Sabretooth was War – check. Although, now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure he should have brought someone as idiotic as Sabretooth back to life… oh well; the only reason he had chosen Sabretooth was because he was easily manipulated and could care less about anything else other than having another chance to kill Avalanche.

Apocalypse stopped his musing as he entered one of the twenty-nine hallways in the complex and walked past the first cell in the hallway. As he got to the second cell, he stopped and stared at the cell's occupant. 'This mutant is powerful; he has immense power in him, and I sense that he has the potential to find more. If I were to put him under my control, use his powers and then control him, my power would be unlimited… yes, I think I will use him for my plans…'

Apocalypse nodded his head decisively as he mentally unlocked the door to the cell. The occupant had no clue what was going on around him; he was too concentrated on his fears and nightmares, trying to keep himself from screaming in pain at the images that kept flashing through his head. He did his absolute best to not scream at what he saw, but when the image of his beloved dying in his arms entered his mind even more vividly than before, he couldn't stop himself; he screamed at the top of his lungs, pain, anger, and fear lacing his voice.

So, when Apocalypse lifted him from the floor telekinetically and brought him out of his cell and into the hallway, this poor prisoner had no clue what was happening to him. However, what Apocalypse didn't notice was that the other cell's occupant was silently watching what was going on, having regained control over his mind, vowing that he would help the other prisoner. Therefore, the conscious occupant was startled when he caught a few muttered words from Apocalypse, "Yes, this mutant will be the last key needed to unlock the door to my domination of the world; he will be the key to unlocking the hidden mutant inside every person on Earth; he will the source of my power!" Then, laughing grimly, Apocalypse left the hallway, the man now floating silently behind him.

As the lone cell's occupant watched Apocalypse go, he tried to yell out to the unconscious prisoner. He tried to try and snap the other prisoner out of his trance and tell him to get away from Apocalypse and free everyone else. But, before he could even utter a word, the images he had been forced to suffer through came back with a vengeance. The occupant's eyes snapped shut and he once more screamed in pain as the images flashed through his head once more. However, even with the pictures in the forefront of his mind, he kept the precious information he had heard from Apocalypse in the back of his mind, ready to tell it to whomever freed him.


	49. Talking with Erik

**Disclaimer:** Still working on hacking into the lawyers' databases… the second firewall is proving to be quite difficult…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 48: Talking with Erik **

_**General Hallways, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 11:20 PM** _

Remy and Rogue raced down the hallways of the complex, with Rogue getting angrier as time passed. This came from the fact that she had been following the Cajun for close to thirty minutes and they were getting nowhere.

"Remy, where tha hell are we?" Rogue asked, stopping in the middle of the hallway and glaring at the Cajun. Remy, who was carrying all the medical supplies (per request of his chére) stopped and looked behind him, his eyes locking on hers.

"Remy told you already, chére. We're almost there," Remy winked and turned his eyes ahead, preparing to keep on moving, but when he didn't hear Rogue's footsteps behind him turned around and saw fierce emerald eyes glaring back at him for the second time in a minute.

"Remy, where is 'there'?" Rogue asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

Remy was about to reply when both heard heavy footsteps heading their way. They looked at each other and instantly closed their eyes, making themselves invisible. They managed this just in time, as the owner of the footsteps rounded the corner. Remy and Rogue quickly moved to the sides of the hallway and watched with wide eyes as Erik stalked past them, muttering angrily to himself.

"Damn it, my plan's gone… Xavier's still out cold from the battle with Mastermind, all of my team is imprisoned in cells but shouldn't be, I'm in way over my head, and to top it all off the one mutant whom I believe is the key to saving us all isn't here! Damn it all!" Erik continuously cursed as he made his way down the hallway. After a few minutes, with Remy and Rogue following behind him silently, Erik suddenly stopped, causing Remy to run into him. Rogue softly cursed and created a small ball of air, sending it to blow past Erik, hoping to make him think that a gust of air was responsible for his thinking something had hit him. Erik bought it.

"Wait a moment…Gambit isn't imprisoned, and neither is Legion. Although Xavier's prodigal son is a Horseman, I have a feeling that he is regretting his decision, and if he is he will be a substantial help to the cause… the cause of destroying Apocalypse once and for all." Erik clenched his fists and looked ready to punch the wall. Erik sighed and was about to move on when he felt something grab him from behind. Erik struggled to move, but felt himself held in place; by a magnetic force field no less. Erik tried to yell, but something invisible covered his mouth and dragged him out of the main hallway and into a side closet covered by a metal door. The closet's outlines could be faintly seen, but was only accessible to someone with magnetic powers. When he was inside, the door closed and a built-in, greenish light switched on.

Erik felt whatever had covered his mouth move and, after taking some deep breaths glared around him, trying to find a target. He succeeded when, out of nowhere, Remy and Rogue appeared, both looking angrily at the Master of Magnetism, causing Erik to take a step back.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, sugah?" Rogue asked, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the father of one of her best friends.

Remy's ruby on onyx eyes pierced Erik's sapphire ones, causing the normally stoic man to waver. "Remy would say, mon chére, dat we have ourselves a traitor; which Remy knows is somethin' dat this man never tolerates. After all, he told Remy and de others dat Lance was a traitor and was to be exterminated. Now, however, we find out dat tu have been holdin' out on nous (us), and nous exigeons (we demand) a reason pourquoi (why)."

Erik blinked his eyes, trying to understand the scattered French throughout Remy's small speech, and after getting the main gist of it sighed and, looking around the closet to make sure that no one else was there besides himself and the other two mutants, turned to look at them.

"You want to know what's going on?" Erik demanded, his voice. When the two mutants continued to stare at him he continued, "I'll tell you what's wrong! Apocalypse is back, and he has the same damn plan as last time and has me under total control! He's threatened the lives of my children; all three of them, and because he has done so I am now under his power. If I don't do what he says they'll die, and after all I've done in the past I can't let them suffer because of my idiocy. He even has new Horsemen – that is, except for Raven, who's the Horseman of Pestilence again. The other three Horsemen are Sabretooth, who's War," Erik ignored the gasp of surprise from both mutants, "Legion, who's Famine, and I don't know the identity of the Horseman of Death, but I do know that he will be chosen soon."

When Erik had finished speaking he was met with shocked silence. He looked at the two mutants before him and saw that both had shocked looks on their faces, their eyes boring into Erik's and making him uncomfortable. When they still said nothing, Erik snapped. "What are you waiting for?! Say something!"

Rogue finally spoke, her words coming out soft, "Erik, listen to meh. Remy and Ah are both reincarnations of ancient beings and we have ta get togethah six others so tha' we can save the whole world and yah," Rogue paused to smile at the mutant she had considered one of her greatest enemies for over a decade, "yah helped us a lot. When we're done with this mission and Apocalypse is gone forevah, yah will get a recommendation from both Remy and meh for a place at the Institute. Yah've changed Erik, and Ah, for one, think that the Professah will see tha' and welcome yah with open arms." Rogue then quickly hugged Erik, leaving him slack-jawed and then she motioned to Remy to speak.

"Magneto. Listen to me. Rogue and I have to go and rescue de others and find the other two deities. We need to free them and de others and get rid of Apocalypse once et for all. Rogue and I are goin' to turn invisible, mais unfortunately we can' take you with us so when we leave you have to not breathe un mot (a word) to anyone or so help me I will hunt tu down and slit your throat." Remy spoke seriously, abandoning third person to do so, his eyes burning brightly as he finished speaking. When Erik nervously gulped and nodded, Remy smirked and, quick as a blink, Remy and Rogue vanished, disappearing under the veil of invisibility.

Erik merely stared at where they had been, and after a few minutes, took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. With this done, he stepped out of the closet and began walking towards Xavier's cell, intent on trying to save his family by enlisting Xavier's help. However, before he got very far, Apocalypse caught him.

"Magneto. Where are you going?"

Erik quickly panicked and bowed low, responding, "My lord, I was just going to Xavier's cell to try and get more information out of him."

Apocalypse merely stared at the man before him, and using his telepathy sensed his disloyalty. "Fool," he hissed, causing Erik to look up, fear clouding his sapphire eyes. "You have betrayed me and helped the enemy. For that, you must be severely punished!" Apocalypse snapped his fingers and the Horseman of Death came out from behind him.

"No, stop! Don't do this!" Erik screamed, trying to get through to the Horseman whom he felt could make all the difference in the outcome of the upcoming battle, but it was of no use.

"Your pleas mean nothing to me," the Horseman of Death hissed, his eyes turning pitch black. He then lifted an arm and cast his attack at the man, who tried to resist, tried to get away and warn Remy and Rogue, but he failed, collapsing to the ground. The Horseman of Death merely stared at the unconscious man while Apocalypse grinned wickedly and placed a hand on his shoulder, praising him for his work. The Horseman of Death's face stayed neutral, nothing showing on it but anger and loyalty to his lord and master Apocalypse.


	50. Beginning the Rescue

**Disclaimer:** Still working on hacking into the lawyers' databases… the second firewall is proving to be quite difficult, considering that I haven't made any progress at all…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 49: Beginning the Rescue **

**_General Hallways, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 11:45 PM_**

Remy and Rogue were still running; they had been doing so for the last twenty minutes, and as they did so thoughts flashed through their minds.

_'Remy, are yah sure we're goin' in tha right direction?' _Rogue impatiently asked, making sure to keep her invisibility shield on.

_'Rogue, Remy tell you already; dis Cajun knows where he's goin',' _Remy replied, and after making sure to keep his invisibility on he added, _'Besides, chére, Remy knows dat tu trust moi (you trust me), non?'_ On getting the silent treatment from Rogue, Remy shook his head and smirked; 'La chére de Remy est trés tetu, mais Remy l'adore (Remy's chére is very stubborn, but Remy loves her).'

Remy and Rogue came to a stop in front of a large steel door, which seemed to be scratched and beat up. _"What do yah think happened ici (here)?' _Rogue asked, her emerald eyes alighting on Remy's (when invisible they both can see each other) black and red ones.

_'Remy don't know, chére, mais Remy feels dat dis isn't bon pour nous (good for us),' _Remy replied, his eyes answering Rogue's question with one of his own. After a few minutes of just standing around, they both nodded and, taking each other's hand phased through the door in front of them, Remy still holding the first-aid equipment. When they emerged on the other side, a horrifying scene met them.

_'Gawd no…'_ whispered Rogue, her voice quavering even in her thoughts. Remy was too silent to move; he couldn't even reply. In front of them was Hallway #1, where they could see Amara and Bobby, both of whom were desperately trying to break free of the torture.

Rogue broke free of Remy's grip, threw off her invisibility cloak, and ran to Amara's cage, using her super strength to wrench the door completely off its hinges. "Amara! Amara, sugah, what's wrong?!" Rogue whispered. She knelt beside her teammate and, cupping her face in her hands lifted it to see what was wrong with her.

Remy crept up behind Rogue and, copying her super strength took the recently ripped off door and replaced it on the door, and then copied Scott's power (which he'd just seen in battle a few days ago) to seal the door back in place.

Rogue took no notice of this as she moved her hands over Amara's body, using Xavier, Betsy, and Jean's combined telepathy to scan the mutant for signs of mental distress.

_'Remy, Ah found what's wrong. Apocalypse has both Amara and Bobby in these cells which project their worst fears- either physical or both- and they also have on mutant inhibition collars which prevent them from using their mental or powers. He's torturing them Remy! What do we do!?' _Rogue looked up from trying to calm Amara down and met Remy's worried eyes.

_'Remy don't know chére; mais dis Cajun knows dat we'll find a way to help them; all of them,' _Remy knelt beside Rogue and gave her a hug. Rogue embraced Remy back, and they stayed this way for a few moments until they were startled out of their embrace when Amara screamed from behind them.

"No! Ray! Don't leave me! I, I need you here with me!" Amara couldn't stand it anymore; all she had been forced to see for days on end were horrific images that detailed her exact death either because her powers failed to protect her from the magma's intense heat, or from the bullets that had riddled her body. Amara's eyes suddenly snapped open, and both Rogue and Remy backed off quickly, both sensing something happening to the young woman.

"Ray!" Amara screamed; her eyes turned bright red, and her body began to transform slowly but surely into her "magma" uniform, burning the inhibition collar completely off. Rogue and Remy watched in amazement, mouths hanging wide open.

Amara's screams died out when she had completely transformed into her magma state; the heat that emanated off her was too intense for even the God of Water and the Goddess of Wind to approach her without letting their bodies adjust a bit to the heat. Amara then collapsed; completely exhausted from the intense effort of escaping Apocalypse's trap and the mental torture she had been forced to endure. She reverted back to her human appearance, and both Rogue and Remy could see that her uniform was still bloody and torn from the fight days before. Remy felt guilty; damn it, he didn't know how Rogue forgave him so easily for being part of the attack at the Institute; after all, it was partially his fault that everyone was suffering the way they were.

"Remy… wha' just happened?" Rogue shakily asked. "Ah thought tha' the prisoners couldn't escape without outside help…"

"Remy too, Rogue; Remy too…" Remy whispered back, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

**_Unknown Location, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 11:45 PM_**

"What was that disturbance?" Apocalypse hissed, his red eyes moving to settle on his four Horsemen, all of whom were kneeling in front of him. His eyes moved from one Horseman to another, and finally settled on the one he was looking for.

"Horseman of Famine," Apocalypse spat, and at this Lucas looked up, "go and see what is wrong and report back to me; now!"

Lucas nodded his head in acquiescence and, getting to his feet, walked out of the room, the door automatically closing behind him.


	51. Rescuing Magma and Iceman

**Disclaimer: **Still working on hacking into the lawyers' databases… the second firewall is proving to be quite difficult, considering that I haven't made any progress at all, even though I've been working at it for close to what, five months? Yeah, no progress at all…

**A/N:** … Hi there… I'm not dead, that's the good news. So, before you all kill me let me explain my long, unexpected absence. College is a pain in the ass, and with so much work I had almost no time left to write or even update. So, in the hopes that you all don't murder me and leave my corpse somewhere to rot, here's the long-awaited chapter 50. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 50: Rescuing Magma and Iceman **

**_Hallway #1, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 12:00 AM_**

Amara's eyes slowly opened and when they did met with a welcome sight. "Rogue?" she whispered, her voice hoarse from all her forced screaming.

Rogue started; she had been working on Bobby's door slowly so as to not raise suspicion or noise at what was happening. She turned around and on seeing Amara's dark eyes looking at her let out a strangled cry and ran through the door to Amara's cell and dropped to her knees, startling the young mutant. Remy glanced over out of the corner of his eye at the scene and continued to work on Bobby's door.

"Amara, sugah, are yah alright?" Rogue asked, her emerald eyes showing the depth of her concern.

Amara just continued to stare at Rogue, her eyes showing confusion and pain. After a few moments Amara said, "How… how did you phase through the door?"

Rogue just smiled and replied, "Later sugah. Right now all tha's important is to make sure yah're well enough to travel and help us free everyone else and get off this damn asteroid."

Amara nodded in consent and with Rogue's help slowly sat up, taking her time because of small bouts of dizziness that ran through her head. Once she was successfully sitting up Rogue placed her hands on Amara's shoulders and closed her eyes, concentrating. Slowly a light white aura began to surround the two of them and Rogue began to transfer some of her own energy to Amara. Amara closed her eyes and felt what wounds that had been left on her begin to heal and close and she also felt her energy return.

After a minute, Rogue broke contact and Amara opened her eyes only to see Rogue before her, her emerald eyes glittering with a hint of exhaustion and happiness. "What did you do?" Amara asked her voice as strong as it had been before she had been captured.

Rogue shook her head and replied once more, "Tha's a story for later, Amara. Right now we need ta free Bobby and everyone else so we can go home." Amara nodded her consent and got to her feet, relishing in the feeling of being able to stand on her feet again without it involving pain, along with added bonus of not being forced to see those bloody images in her head.

Rogue took Amara's hand and phased them through the cell and walked over to Bobby's door, which unlike Amara's was tougher to get off, considering Apocalypse thought Bobby the leader of X-Factor, and therefore the strongest of the team. Remy was struggling to get the door off using the copied ability to lengthen his nails to such a length and sharpness that he would be able to pick the small keyhole and open the door.

Remy saw the two women coming his way and asked, "Would tous le deux (you two) mind terribly if vous (you) would get ça porte (this door) open for Remy?" Amara just stared blankly, not being able to understand French very well but Rogue simply nodded, came over, and, using her super strength ripped the door open with the least amount of noise as she could manage

"Merci," Remy replied, rushing into the cell as soon as the door was open. He knelt next to Bobby and examined the X-Factor leader, feather light touches telling him all he needed to know. He groaned and said, "Merde, Bobby's hurt real bad; he has scars and blood all over son visage (his face) and he's weak; Remy don' know…" Remy thought for a moment, with Amara and Rogue looking on, and then snapped his fingers.

"Remy got de answer…" Remy then took off his gloves and gently placed his hands on Bobby's face, taking some of his energy and donating it to Bobby. Amara watched in amazement as a white aura surrounded Remy and Bobby, the scars and blood on her team leader's face fading until they were non-existent. After a few moments Remy took his hands off Bobby and put back on his gloves. He then nodded to Rogue, who came over and, using Lorna and Erik's ability to control metal took the collar off Bobby.

The screaming soon stopped and Bobby's eyes slowly opened; what he saw quickly brought his vision into focus. "Rogue… Amara? What's going on? Why is he here?" Bobby's tone went from confused to angry as soon as he saw Remy standing next to Rogue, an arm draped casually over her shoulder. He got to his feet and almost fell down again due to the bout of dizziness that suddenly overwhelmed him.

"Careful Bobby; you've just gotten a boost of energy from Remy; he and Rogue saved our lives. Don't get angry at Remy; he's here to help," Amara commented, having picked up on the relationship that seemed to exist between the two Southern mutants as she helped Bobby to his feet and let him lean on her shoulder for support.

"You sure?" he asked, doubt lacing his words as his light brown eyes glared into Remy's demon eyes.

"I'm sure," Amara answered confidently, having complete faith in Rogue's actions and reasons for being with Remy.

Bobby sighed and, after gaining his equilibrium once more, stuck out a hand towards Remy. "If both Rogue and Amara trust you Gambit then… then I suppose I trust you too." Remy, grinning took Bobby's hand and grimaced as he felt a thin layer of frost cover his hand.

"Bobby!" Rogue exclaimed, having seen the ice-wielding mutant perform the trick endless times before.

Bobby shrugged and said, "Sorry; couldn't help myself." He broke the handhold and Remy shook his hand to get the ice off his hand.

"C'est bon, mon ami. (It's good, my friend.) Remy is used to such stunts," Remy replied, shrugging the prank off as if it were nothing. Remy was used to such stunts from Pietro and John, both annoying him in any way possible with practical jokes; Remy shrugged them off often but also got his revenge in small ways like hiding Pietro's clothes and taking John's lighters…

Bobby grinned and was about to remark on what Remy had done for him when the door to the hallway slammed open. Rogue and Remy instantly got in front of the two X-Factor members and both of their faces paled when they saw Lucas, black eyes burning brightly, standing in front of the door to Bobby's cell, a light purple aura surrounding him.

"Hello ye scoundrels; ready to fight?" Lucas questioned, a large smirk gracing his features as the purple aura began to increase in intensity.

"We're in deep shit; aren't we?" Bobby questioned, his voice hoarse and containing a hint of fright.

"Oui, mon ami; we are in deep shit," Remy commented, ready in a battle stance to face whatever Lucas threw at him.


	52. Battling the Horseman of Famine and Rede

**Disclaimer: **Still working on hacking into the lawyers' databases… wait, I just got past the second firewall! Success! Wait… what's that little bomb? No… no! I lost it all!

**A/N:** Hi there. I sound like a broken record but I must say that I'm impressed with myself. Only three months and not five or six like the last few updates. So, enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 51: Battling the Horseman of Famine and Redemption **

_**Hallway #1, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 12:15 AM**_

Lucas's black eyes surveyed the scene before him – the two X-Factor members that had once been screaming in pain from the mental images that bombarded their minds were now completely healthy and standing, their guards up, behind Rogue and Gambit… a scene that didn't suit Lucas' tastes at all.

"Now, ain't this a sight," Lucas murmured, his eyes boring a hole into Bobby and Amara, letting out a satisfied laugh when he saw them shiver in fear. He then turned his gaze to the two Southern mutants in front of them. "Well, if it ain't the traitor; ye are a traitor, aren't ye Gambit?" On getting no answer from the Cajun, he turned his attention to Rogue. "And here is the bitch of a daughter of her whore-mother Mystique who was supposed tae be the Horseman of Famine but passed up the wonderful opportunity and gave it tae me… pity."

Lucas was too busy mocking Rogue and her missed opportunity to notice that Amara had overcome her fear of the Scottish mutant and had disappeared from behind Rogue. Using stealth training she had gotten from Logan, Amara carefully moved so that she was behind Lucas. She then formed a large fireball and threw it with all her might at the telepathic mutant. Lucas let out a cry of shock and pain as he felt the intense heat burn him, his neck and hair catching on fire. He spun around to confront Amara, but when he did so, saw nothing. Amara had taken the amount of time for Lucas to notice the fire to sneak away and return to standing behind Rogue.

"Argh, damn it!! Ay'll get ye, ye little bitch!" Lucas screamed using the purple energy he had been readying to send at the four mutants to put out the fire on his neck and hair. He then turned to face the mutants, his eyes burning with anger and a lust for revenge.

"Get ready tae die!" Lucas snarled, sending a powerful telepathic wave at the four mutants, smirking on knowing that the strength of the attack was even enough so that his own father couldn't escape from it. However, the smirk quickly faded from his face when he saw that his attack was not having any effect; in fact, it seemed like the Rogue – the bitch – and the traitor were _blocking_ the attack. Lucas just managed to move out of the way as Rogue and Remy sent his attack back at him with double the original power; a move that made Lucas scared.

'How the hell can they do tha'?! They shouldn't be able tae do it; only Ay should be able tae do somethin' like tha' and yet they're blockin' it and sendin' it back at me with more force than it originally had… wha' the fuck is goin' on?!' Lucas angrily thought, as he concentrated on dodging mental attacks from both Rogue and Remy, who had copied Jean, Xavier, and Betsy's telepathic abilities and were now using them to beat Lucas at his own game; so far, they were succeeding.

"How in the hell are ye doin' tha'?!" Lucas snarled, dodging Rogue's attack by rolling on the ground from one side of the hallway to the other only to have jump back five feet to avoid Remy's attack.

Rogue and Remy chose to not respond continuing their mental barrage on the Horseman of Famine in front of them. Bobby and Amara, during this battle, were merely staring at the two older mutants with envy and shock clearly visible on their faces, both surprised at Rogue and Remy's abilities, knowing that before the whole kidnapping ordeal neither one of them had been able to use telepathic attacks.

_'Remy, should we tell Amara and Bobby to help us take out Lucas quickly?' _Rogue asked, able to balance her mind between talking to her boyfriend and attacking Xavier's son.

_'Remy think so, chére; it will help us a lot if we get dis battle done quickly,' _Remy responded, his black and red eyes narrowed in concentration. He didn't notice Rogue's small nod of agreement and, on getting her a mental signal upped the intensity of his attacks, grinning when he managed to hit Lucas in the leg. This caused the Scottish mutant to stop his constant jumping around the hallway and throw up a mental shield due to the intense pain from blocking oncoming attacks from hitting their marks.

_'Amara, Bobby; listen to meh; Remy and Ah need yah to help us take out Lucas quickly because we're both beginning to tire out; got it?' _Rogue mentally told the younger students, hoping that they would follow her orders instead of freezing up on the spot in shock at hearing her speak mentally to them.

Amara and Bobby looked at each other, and, getting identical grins on their faces spilt up, Amara going to Rogue's left while Bobby went to Remy's right. At a mental signal from both Remy and Rogue Amara flared up and shot a dangerously hot lava stream at Lucas' already injured left leg while Bobby iced up and shot an arctic breeze at Lucas' head, hoping to distract him long enough for Rogue and Remy to prepare their final attacks. The double strategy worked – Lucas had to let his mental shield fall due to the pain he felt from a combination of past wounds and the damage that Bobby and Amara's attacks had caused.

Bobby gave himself a pat on the back for a job well done, not noticing that Lucas had launched a desperate attack of revenge at the ice wielder. Bobby's light brown eyes opened to see a fast-moving light purple dagger heading towards him but before he could even think to dodge, the dagger was sent back at Lucas with an unknown speed that caught him off guard. Lucas screamed as his own dagger hit him in the arm, leaving behind a jagged cut that was now oozing blood.

"Damn it…" Lucas cursed; trying to cover the wound with his arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding but failing as his hand slowly turned the shade of the blood he was desperately trying to stop. Lucas was so concentrated on trying to stop his bleeding that he didn't notice Rogue and Remy's approach until he was lifted up from the ground and slammed against the steel wall.

"Well, chére, it appears to Remy dat we have de magnifique (magnificent) Horseman of Famine in our possession, non?" Remy said, making sure to add a hint of sarcasm to his voice; Rogue, Bobby, and Amara all nodded from behind Remy.

"Aye, well, it's not a pretty sight when someone as ugly as ye ends up catching a mermaid like tha'," Lucas angrily retorted to Remy, doing his best to ignore the pain that was emanating from the whole of his body. Lucas immediately winced as Rogue, who had not taken kindly to his comment, punched him in the gut.

"Never say that about Remy again, yah hear meh?!" Rogue angrily demanded her emerald eyes ablaze with anger. Lucas spit out a small amount of blood and merely glared at the Southern mutant, his black eyes remaining full of anger and pain. Rogue's eyes glared into his for a few minutes until Lucas averted his gaze, no longer caring whether or not Rogue and Remy beat him up.

"Why should it matter what Ay do from now on… no one cares about me; no one," Lucas whispered, black eyes becoming hollow as he thought about his current situation: he was pinned up against a wall by an angry Gambit and Rogue, with Magma and Iceman waiting in the background in case he tried anything funny. He knew that Apocalypse would punish him for his failure to detain the two escaped mutants along with the whore of a daughter of Mystique and the traitor Gambit. His mother hated him because he had refused to try and patch things up with his father, leaving him unable to return to his mother in Scotland and to add on to his shattered psyche both Ian and David were still fighting him for control of his mind.

"What do yah mean, yah're all alone?" Rogue whispered, her listening strengthened by Logan, Lexie, and Sabretooth's own advanced hearing.

Lucas looked back to his captors and, snarling, replied, "It's none of yer damn business!" He was going to say more but Remy tightened his hold on the Scottish mutant, forcing him to swallow his words.

"It is our business when tu whisper something that could help us," Remy growled, his ruby on onyx eyes burning a hole into Lucas' solid black ones. When Lucas didn't respond Remy slammed him into the wall once more, rewarded this time by a groan of pain from Lucas as he felt his injured leg hit the wall especially hard.

"Remy, stop; Ah think he's too overcome with pain to really hurt us; be gentle," Rogue told Remy, hoping that he could sense the turmoil in Lucas' mind. Remy looked at Rogue in disbelief, along with Amara and Bobby, all of whom were wondering if Rogue was losing her mind. Rogue sensed their thoughts and snapped, "Ah'm not losin' my mind! Ah know how Lucas feels; it's how Ah used to feel years ago."

Remy's eyes showed the battle that raged inside him; should he listen to Rogue and let Lucas go so he could help them or should he do what he thought was right, which was to keep Lucas prisoner so that he couldn't harm anyone? After a few moments, along with Rogue pouting, tears forming in her emerald eyes, Remy groaned and let Lucas fall to the floor; however, not gently enough for Rogue who hit him in the shoulder in retaliation.

"Merde, Rogue," Remy muttered, rubbing his now sore shoulder amidst the snickering of Amara and Bobby behind him. Rogue ignored her boyfriend and fellow deity and knelt beside Lucas, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Lucas looked up at Rogue and she could see the confusion in his eyes. "Ah trust yah, Legion… Lucas. Ah know that yah have been tricked into being Apocalypse's servant and as such yah are regretting your actions. Yah feel like yah're not wanted; that no one cares enough about yah to try and save your life; am Ah right?" Rogue told him, smiling in reassurance, and when she saw Lucas give a small nod yes her smile grew.

Lucas looked at Rogue and saw honesty in her emerald eyes. As he continued to stare into Rogue's eyes – not noticing the jealous glare of Remy – he suddenly found his mind cleansed of all the turmoil that he had been feeling inside for years. Lucas clutched his head in pain as images of his father, mother, Apocalypse, David, and Ian flew through its depths.

(INSIDE LUCAS' MIND)

Lucas widened his eyes as he saw his father sitting in front of a bay window, awaiting a call from his mother as to Lucas' whereabouts. When the phone rang, Xavier quickly answered but the hope that he saw on his father's face quickly vanished, leaving a heartbroken man. Xavier hung up and Lucas, realizing that neither one of his parents knew where he was, saw Xavier put his face in his hands, hiding the tears that Lucas could swear he sensed falling from his father's eyes.

"Father…" Lucas whispered, reaching a hand out to try to comfort Xavier, to reassure him that he was there and he was alright, but Lucas' hand passed right through Xavier. Lucas pulled his hand back, shocked. "What have Ay become?" he whispered, looking at himself from his family's viewpoint. "Ay'm... Ay'm a monster…" Lucas whispered, hearing a chorus of agreements from his alter egos David and Ian.

Lucas looked up and saw himself standing in front of his mother, Gabrielle Haller. She was sitting in a chair in her study, working on some paperwork. Lucas watched in confusion as she stopped writing and, opening a drawer in her desk, took out a picture that Lucas' alter ego David recognized as a family portrait, just the two of them, from when he was about ten years old. She looked at it and silent tears rolled down her cheeks, splashing the glass barrier between the actual picture and the air around Gabrielle.

"David… Ian… Lucas… whoever ye are at this time Ay pray that ye come back to me safe and sound." She placed a feather light kiss on the picture than placed it back into the drawer from whence it had come and continued to work, holding back the tears that threatened to fall.

"Mother…" Lucas whispered, feeling his psyche break and David take over for a few moments.

"Look what you've done, Lucas; you've made our mother cry. How could you?" David accused, dressed in faded light blue jeans, a faded, long-sleeved green shirt, and white sneakers, his short-cropped light blond hair neatly combed. Ian appeared beside David, dressed in the same outfit but merely nodding in agreement and glaring at his older looking counterpart, his hair the same length as David's, but messier. Lucas looked at his two other personalities, feeling their pain and confusion from what he had done and feeling David's love for Gabrielle and Ian's love for Xavier; he realized then and there that he had been manipulated by Apocalypse indirectly for years, and as such hadn't been acting like himself.

Lucas fell to his knees and yelled, "Ay'm such a bastard; Ay let meself be controlled when Ay claim tha' Ay'm uncontrollable. Ay've hurt the people Ay loved time and again and Ay've let anger and depression control me… Ay'm sorry… Ay'm sorry…" Lucas pounded his fists into the ground in frustration and anger at himself and his actions, David and Ian looking at each other and, nodding, moved to comfort their counterpart.

"Don't worry Lucas; we're here to help," David reassured, Ian nodding in agreement. It was then that Lucas realized what he had to do.

(OUTSIDE LUCAS' MIND)

Rogue, Remy, Amara, and Bobby watched Lucas struggling with his mind, moaning or groaning in pain as he did so. Finally, after what seemed to be ages Lucas' eyes opened and he screamed in pain and resolution, a black shadow rising from the Scottish mutant. Remy immediately stopped watching Lucas and using Erik and Lorna's control over metal took the plating off the walls and formed an impenetrable cage. Rogue looked up and asked, "Remy… wha' tha hell is that?"

Remy looked at his girlfriend and said, "Remy thinks dat dis creature be de evil side of Legion dat has been imprisoned inside 'im for years… now it was released and Remy caught it to prevent it from infectin' someone else." Rogue nodded in agreement and after Remy was done constructing the cage, she added her own prevention by using the telekinetic abilities of Betsy and Jean to create a second defense wall that would prevent the creature from escaping and taking over someone else.

While Remy and Rogue took care of the shadow Amara and Bobby were helping Lucas to his feet, each supporting one side of the Scottish mutant. "Are you alright?" Amara asked, her voice holding concern and acting as a balm for Lucas' recently cleansed mind.

"Aye… Ay think Ay'm okay…" Lucas slowly answered, getting used to just talking and not screaming, gloating, bragging, threatening, or muttering; in other words, he hadn't just spoken without any ulterior motives in years. His mind was in utter disarray; David and Ian had been given new places that gave them more control over Lucas' mind or the ability to come out and live in the real world instead of being trapped inside their own psyche. At this time, both David and Ian had agreed to let Lucas have control until they got home to not arouse suspicion among the other Horsemen.

Lucas looked at Amara, admiring her beauty, and she could feel a small blush tainting her cheeks, tinting them a pale pink. Bobby was too preoccupied with needing to find his own girlfriend to notice the looks Lucas threw at Amara but noticed the small blush that had crept onto Amara's cheeks, giving him information to use as possible blackmail…

"Lucas," Rogue said as she and Remy approached, after having placed the shadow inside Bobby's cell with a magnetic and telekinetic charm on the door. "Do you want us ta heal yah so yah can help us?"

Lucas looked from Rogue to Remy and seeing how concerned they were for him (Rogue anyway) nodded yes, adding, "Aye, tha' would be fine. Ay'll help ye find everyone else as long as ye help me with me old man."

Rogue nodded and after nudging Remy to help her, they walked up to Lucas, removing their gloves. Amara and Bobby watched Rogue carefully, wondering why she had taken off her gloves when she couldn't touch. However, both were amazed when Rogue placed her hands on Lucas' face and nothing happened; there were no signs that she was taking Lucas' powers, memories, or life force; she was just touching Lucas' face gently, hoping to help him. Remy placed his tanned hands over Rogue's and together they both began to glow with a white aura, transferring their energy to Lucas. Amara and Bobby both watched as Lucas closed his eyes and sighed in relief as he felt the pain from his injuries disappear, the wounds closing up leaving flawless and unbroken skin, and his mind was at ease for the first time since he was eighteen.

After Rogue and Remy had finished they pulled their hands away and put back on their gloves, looking a little drained but otherwise fine. Lucas took his arms off Amara and Bobby's shoulders and cautiously took a few steps, a genuine grin reaching his face when he found that he could walk without pain anymore. He turned to face the two Southern mutants and, bowing from the waist down, said, "Ay thank ye for helping me tae regain the self tha' was lost long ago. If ye'll follow me Ay'll take ye tae the rest of the hallways tae free the others." Lucas stood up and looked to Rogue and Remy, finding acceptance in Rogue's eyes and a hint of acceptance in Remy's eyes. He then turned to Bobby and Amara, whom he found to be somewhere else mentally, concerned for the rest of their friends.

"Lucas, Amara, Bobby. Come here," Rogue beckoned, and when the three had done so nodded to Remy who, nodding in return, placed his hands on Lucas and Bobby's shoulders while Rogue placed hers on Amara's. With the blink of an eye, the five of them disappeared. After Rogue and Remy explained to the three of them that they were invisible, they were to only speak telepathically, and Remy had gathered up the first aid supplies Lucas led them out of hallway #1 and towards their next destination, keeping up a mental shield to make sure that Apocalypse didn't sense their movements.


	53. Fears of the Imprisoned, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **Well, I got past the second firewall, but then a small virus infected my computer, causing me to lose all of my progress's that little bomb? No… no! I lost it all!

**A/N:** … Hi there. I sound like a broken record but I must say that I'm impressed with myself. Only three months and not five or six like the last few updates. I also have some good news: Well, the good news is that I am officially done with my sophomore year in college, and now have a glorious summer ahead of me, meaning that I'll finally get my ass in gear and start paying more attention to this story.

I'm trying out a new style in this chapter; nothing too major, but something to break up the seemingly endless paragraphs. All of these scenes take place at the same time.

Thanks for being so patient; as a reward this chapter is extra long. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 52: Fears of the Imprisoned, Part 3**

**_Hallways #21, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:00 AM_**

_John's Visions:_

John screamed as he saw his family in Sydney, Australia boarding a plane to come to the USA to live with him and Wanda at the Brotherhood house, which was now under Lance's control (and had undergone major renovations). John was with them, ready to help them in any way he could, and he especially kept a close eye on his twin sister Kayla as she was ahead of him in line. John and Kayla were talking about his most recently published story when gunshots rang out in the airport terminal, and John instantly ducked down to the ground, pulling Kayla with him, but John couldn't get the word out to the rest of his family to throw themselves to the ground in time; John and Kayla had to watch in slow motion as the rest of their family's eyes rolled back in their heads and they fell to the linoleum floor, dead from numerous bullet holes throughout their bodies.

John and Kayla slowly moved to some plastic chairs and hid themselves underneath them, where they watched as the gunshots continued to rain out upon the people in the terminal and when the sound ceased they carefully crawled out from underneath the chairs and slowly got to their feet. They began to run towards their plane, which was now loading, but just as they were about to make it the gunshots started once more and John, who had ended up in front of his sister, heard her scream. John froze and turned his head around, his eyes widening as he watched his twin sister fall to the ground, blood seeping through bullet holes in her body. John knelt beside her, crying over his twin's loss, and when he heard the footsteps approaching took his lighter out and flicked it on, preparing to show the FOH what a mutant could do but before he got the chance he felt himself get shot, the bullets raining throughout his body. John dropped the lighter as he fell to the ground, dead, his blue eyes facing the lifeless ones of his twin sister.

John's screams grew louder as he saw himself in some kind of church that he recognized as one he regularly attended when he got the chance; under holo-watch disguise, of course. John glanced down and noticed himself in some kind of black suit… a tuxedo, he realized nervously, with a dark orange tie. John glanced to his left and his eyes alighted on Remy in a black tuxedo with a black tie and he was holding something out to him, something that was glinting in the light from the stained glass windows in the church. John's sapphire eyes questioned Remy's and although Remy spoke John couldn't hear a word his best friend said. John's hand, almost as if by instinct, reached out and took the two rings and looked down at them, his eyes showing fear and confusion as he realized they were wedding bands. John heard someone clearing their throat and he looked up in front of him and his ocean-blue eyes once more stared with confusion evident even on the surface, for the person standing in front of him was none other than Wanda Maximoff, dressed in a strapless, white wedding gown, her sapphire eyes looking at John with the question 'What's wrong?' in them and her black hair hanging loose around her shoulders. John shook his head to make sure he wasn't dreaming; when he opened his eyes again he saw he wasn't dreaming- he was going to marry the girl of his dreams. John grinned widely and this caused Wanda to grin as well.

Just as John was about to place the wedding band on Wanda's left ring finger someone screamed in the audience that the wedding couldn't take place; it was unethical. John and Wanda glanced back at the entrance to the church and there they saw Erik, metal plating floating all around him. Erik merely shot daggers out of his eyes at the couple at the altar and threw his arms out, sending the metal plating hurtling towards the couple. Before John could even react or reach into his pocket where his lighter was Wanda pushed him out of the way and let the metal strike her. John screamed as he watched his fiancée die for him; willingly die for him when it should be the other way around. Wanda's body fell to the ground, her white dress now stained red, and she murmured to John, who had her head in his lap, that she loved him before letting life leave her body. John could only stare at his Wanda; the blood that coated her dress shouldn't be there; he should be the one dead, not her! John broke down and cried over his loss, not caring if he lived past that moment in the least.

_Wanda's Visions:_

Wanda's mind felt like it was on fire as she saw herself with the rest of the Brotherhood and the Acolytes, along with Rogue, Kitty, and Lexie at the park, enjoying themselves on a bright sunny day. Wanda was reading a gothic romance novel by her favorite author when she felt it leave her hands. Wanda angrily looked up and saw her reflection in the ocean-blue eyes of St. John Allerdyce. Wanda got up and declared that he needed to give her the book back, but John merely shook his head. He proceeded to flip through the pages, his eyes scanning every detail and after this was done shrugged and made to give the book back. Wanda offered him a small smile of thanks but right before her hands grasped the book John pulled it back and threw it into the pond in the park. Wanda was shocked for a moment; that is, until she realized that even though John acted like an idiot at times he would never throw something that valuable to Wanda away like that.

Wanda's eyes shot daggers at John and they then widened in confusion as he shifted into Raven before her eyes, cackling madly. Wanda shot hex bolt after hex bolt at the shape-shifter, who nimbly dodged each and every one. Finally, Wanda ran out of energy and just when she was about to be killed she felt the ground beneath her moving. Wanda realized Lance and the rest of her friends were trying to help her, but she could only watch helplessly as they were all defeated. Raven then turned to her and, grinning madly, turned into a giant black bear and sliced through Wanda, leaving her to die next to her friends and family on the grass of the park.

The image then changed to one that Wanda was finding hard to believe – she was on an actual date with no interference from her father or brother, and certainly not her sister – if that was true – Lorna. Wanda's sapphire eyes alighted on her date and they widened when she saw John. He was talking adamantly about how she should do the illustrations for his novels; they could work together on a book; he bet it would be more popular than any work the two of them did alone. Wanda felt herself saying that she would agree to work together on a project together only if he let her have 50 of the money made. John said of course he would; what were partners for? Wanda grinned; she liked to have extra money to spend at her luxury and besides, if this date went as well as she hoped… then maybe she'd use the money to buy something special for her next date with John.

John proposed a toast to their upcoming partnership and raised his glass. Wanda was about to do the same when she heard something crawling above her. Wanda, having lived for years with Todd, knew it was him and just as she was about to warn John she felt the air get knocked out of her. Wanda doubled over, clutching her stomach in pain, and winced as each breath she tried to take got harder and harder to do. She heard scuffling above her and when she got her breath back she sat back up in her seat, her hands glowing dark blue. What she saw made her stop breathing; John was lying facedown on the table, blood coating the white jacket he'd been wearing trailing up to a large hole in the back of his head. Right next to him on the floor was a badly mauled Todd; one of his eyes ripped out and blood seeping from numerous wounds on him, including an area where his left leg should have been. Wanda's eyes filled with tears and she instantly flung her arms out, encasing Todd in blue magic. She then squeezed him – hard. She blocked out his pleas for help, ignoring the sincerity in his voice when he said he hadn't known what he was doing. Wanda finally released him when she only heard silence around her and heard the dull thump he made when he hit the carpeted floor of the restaurant. Wanda then gently used her magic to lift John's limp body off the table and bring it over to her. She fingered his cold lips and gently pressed a kiss to them. She then gently lowered the body to the floor and knelt beside it. She then draped herself over it and cried, the hot tears falling onto the closed eyes of John Allerdyce.

**_Hallways #22, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:00 AM_**

_Tyne's Visions:_

Tyne was desperately trying to block out her previous memories from her life in Baghdad, Iraq. Tyne, for as long as she remembered, had always been forced to be a subservient human being to her three older brothers and her father, as her mother had died when she was born. Tyne couldn't ever remember a time when she had been truly happy before coming to the Institute, and now was no exception. It was Tyne's seventeenth birthday and per family tradition a marriage had been arranged for her. Tyne didn't particularly like the man her father had picked out for her. She pleaded with her father to send him away but was refused. Then, she went to her brothers and asked for their help but, unlike last time where they had chased the man away with threats of death and castration (showing that they did indeed care about her), they let her marry the guy, who turned out to be a serial rapist. Tyne had to bear being raped numerous times by her "husband" and soon couldn't take it anymore. She tried to escape but her "husband" found her and forced her once more. This time, to finish off the job he tied her to their bed and after raping her shot her two times in the head then made the scene appear like a suicide. Tyne screamed as she relived this series of events so many times that her mind began to overload.

The final straw to her already fragile mind, though, was when she was sitting outside the Institute, enjoying the sunlight, when footsteps reached her ears. Tyne turned and met Rex's eyes. Rex asked her if she would like to go see a movie with him, and Tyne happily accepted. That night, while in the darkness of the theater, Tyne and Rex shared a gentle kiss and snuggled up against each other while watching zombies roam the land.

However, the date was ruined when blue magic ripped through the audience, killing almost everyone there, but not Tyne or Rex. The two X-Sword members got ready to battle but before they could even attack flames engulfed them. As they fought to get out of the situation they saw the fear in each other's eyes and just as Tyne was about to change into a huge eagle and fly the two of them out of danger a gunshot was heard and Tyne's eyes widened as she watched Rex's eyes roll back into his head and he fell forward, only to have flames consume him. Tyne screamed and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get to Rex; not even to save his body, and so had to watch as his body was burned to ashes, her tears mixing with the ashes that were all that was left of Rex.

_Lorna's Visions:_

Lorna's screams rang louder than Tyne's as she saw her sister Diane at a family reunion that was at the Institute, which, oddly enough, included the Maximoff twins, who were generally nice for once. They were all having a nice time, sharing their different lives and making plans for the future. Lorna looked at the twins and felt, for the first time since she had found out about her father's identity, complete. Lorna looked over at Diane and saw her flirting with Ray, who was responding while his girlfriend Amara could be seen with steam coming out of her ears; literally. Lorna then looked over at her other sister Wanda and saw a gold wedding band on her left ring finger, the matching band on John Allerdyce's left ring finger. They were currently discussing his next book, with illustrations by her, of course. Lorna's focus then switched to Pietro, who was currently trying to talk to Lexie Howlett, without much success of course, due to Logan's being right behind him, breathing down his neck every other minute, making Pietro mess up everything he was trying to say.

Finally, Lorna looked around for her father, whom she had made sure to invite; she really wanted to know more about his relationship with her biological mother. Lorna spotted him and was about to wave him over when she saw all the metal surrounding him. She tried to yell out a warning but it came too late. Erik launched the metal, implanting it in everyone gathered on the school's front lawn. Lorna and the other mutants still standing – Wanda, Pietro, John, and Lexie – desperately tried to fight back but they couldn't; the last memory Lorna had of the incident was staring into her father's ice-blue eyes and hearing him say, "You will never be my child, Polaris. Never."

The scene then switched to a fancy restaurant in Honolulu, Hawaii with Lorna in a shimmering black, spaghetti-strap ball gown and Alex in a white tuxedo with a pale red dress shirt and white tie. Lorna was having a wonderful time; it was just her and her boyfriend, alone, with no one to bother them. Lorna was startled out of her thoughts by Alex asking her to dance, and Lorna, of course, agreed. As Alex and Lorna walked out onto the dance floor she took a moment to admire the gold engagement ring with a diamond surrounded by an emerald and a peridot – her birthday was in May and his was in August. Lorna felt nothing but love for Alex; she knew from then on that her life would be perfect.

As Lorna placed her arms around Alex's neck and began swaying to the music she was startled when she thought she saw a fleck of yellow dance in his eyes. Lorna shook her head, telling herself that she was just tired; Alex's eyes were the same color they'd always been. When Lorna looked again she knew something was definitely wrong; she could feel it in her bones. Lorna broke out of Alex's grasp and backed up, putting her hands out in front of her for protection and she felt chills when she watched her fiancé change into Raven, who stood there laughing her head off. She then snapped her fingers and Fred appeared through the door, a limp Alex in his grasp. He dropped Alex's body on the floor and Lorna saw it was stained with blood. Her doctor's intuition told her that he was dead, but her heart didn't want to believe it. Lorna took all the silverware from the surrounding tables and flung it at the shape-shifter, who dodged it. Raven then somehow shot a yellow beam from her eyes and hit Lorna squarely in the chest. Lorna fell to the floor, next to Alex, and as she felt the blood drain from her knew she was dying, and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. She knew that she would never see her true love again.

**_Hallways #23, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:00 AM_**

_Sean Cassidy's Visions:_

Sean Cassidy, also known as the mutant Banshee, screamed with pain, his voice threatening to go completely hoarse from its not having gotten any rest in close to four days. His short, strawberry blond hair with streaks of pale yellow hung limp in front of his eyes, usually a calming sky blue, now filled with pain. Sean couldn't remember anything similar to the torture he was feeling due to the amount of pain being inflicted on him; not even in his years as part of the original X-Men.

Sean could only watch as he saw a flashback to when he had first gained his mutant powers when he was sixteen. He had been strolling out on the moors, relishing in the fact that it was summer vacation and he didn't have to do anything for practically three months. As the wind blew in his face he thought about his family; they were very strict and, as such, he didn't often get much time to himself. Just as he was thinking about this he saw his best friend Terry O'Leary coming towards him, a hand raised in greeting. Sean waved back and opened his mouth to yell hello but instead of his voice came the loudest screech he had ever heard. He saw, as if in slow motion, Terry getting hit dead on with his scream, blood spattering over the white tee shirt he was wearing instead of jumping out of the way.

When Sean was able to close his mouth he could only see the limp body of Terry, lying where he fell. Sean ran home but unlike last time his family had heard the wailing and blamed him for Terry's death, handing him with no sympathy in their eyes over to the town constable, who sentenced Sean to death by hanging. Sean could only watch as he was hung to the roars of approval from the rest of the town, all happy to see a murderer getting what he deserved.

The image then switched to just a few months ago when he had asked Moira MacTaggert to marry him. They had been out at an excellent seafood restaurant that was just across the bay from Muir Island and Sean had waited until after dessert to ask. He got down on one knee and after telling her how much she meant to him he had pulled out a beautifully cut diamond shaped in the form of a pair of wings, tinted with blue. Moira, with tears in her eyes had accepted the offering with joy in her voice. Grinning widely, Sean placed the ring on her finger and moved to kiss her when Erik, clothed in his armor, burst through the restaurant's roof, killing all those in the restaurant that night except for Sean and Moira, who had instantly gotten into battle stances, Sean preparing to launch one of his sonic screams at Erik.

However, before he could even move to attack he saw Erik snap his fingers and heard Moira scream behind him. Eyes widening Sean whirled around only to see a now limp-less Moira in the claws of Sabretooth, who was grinning mercilessly. Sean, angry beyond reasoning, launched an attack of such an extent that he flew into the air and took both Erik and Sabretooth out with its echoes. When he had made sure his attackers were dead he moved over to Moira and, gently, stroking her now bloodstained and pale white face let the tears fall; he had lost the woman he loved.

_Moira MacTaggert's Visions:_

Moira MacTaggert could only whimper in pain as the images kept flashing through her mind, blinding her senses to anything else but pain. She remembered being forced to listen her fiancé's screams of pain issue from behind bars to create some kind of technological device that would give _him_ – Apocalypse – total control over the four mutants he chose to be his Horsemen' however, she had put a subtle flaw in them that would allow their wearer to break free if they had the power and desire to do so. She let out a screech of unimaginable pain as the images she had been forced to see for close to four days returned to relentlessly torture her once more. Her shoulder length dark red hair was a tangled mess and strands hung in front of her usually vibrant green-gray eyes, now a dull mess.

Moira saw before her the Muir Island Research Facility, where she helped mutants with rare powers and those who were sick get better and studied them in hopes of finding them cures. However, all she saw now brought tears to her eyes. She saw her adopted daughter Rahne marrying the man of her dreams – Roberto da Costa – with all of the Xavier Institute, Brotherhood, Acolytes, and Muir Island Research Facility mutants in attendance. She could only watch as Rahne and Roberto moved to seal their marriage vows but jut as they were about to kiss a whirring sound could be heard above. Everyone looked up and saw a battalion of Sentinels headed their way.

The mutants launched all their attacks, Rahne and Betsy moving to take the younger mutants inside the facility for safety. Moira watched, speechless, as the mutants began to fall, one by one, to the oncoming menace, until finally only Rahne, Roberto, Sean, Betsy, and Warren were left standing. They exchanged looks and all at once they attacked, hoping to overwhelm the machines and send them tumbling. However, before they even got off the ground they were shot down, their blood scattering over the white walls of the facility and creating a mural that Moira could only watch with wide eyes and knew she would never forget. Not ever.

The image then switched to when she and Sean had begun to get serious. They were on their fifth date and she had proposed that they go back to her house that was next to the research facility and talk. On their way back they had begun to kiss and just when they were about to leave his car and enter her house gunshots rang out. Sean and Moira ducked to the bottom of his car and covered their heads, hoping to rid the sound of the gunshots from around them by imagining the sounds to be mere illusions.

When the sound stopped Sean motioned that he was going to check if their attackers had vanished, and even though Moira tried to get him to come back to her he went up and checked. The attackers had been waiting for this and shot, bullets riddling Sean's body as he sat, unable to move. The attackers, laughing, ran over to the car and, opening the door, dragged Sean's lifeless body out of the car where they pulled out knifes and cut him up, tossing pieces of his body all over the place, until they went and got Moira out of the car, binding her hands and gagging her. They then brought her over to where Sean's head lay, his hair covered in blood and his eyes wide open, lifelessly staring into her own. Moira screamed through her gag as she saw her boyfriend's head in front of her, knowing that she would never forget the image as long as she lived…

**_Hallways #24, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:00 AM_**

_Lucid's Visions:_

Lucid, another one of the mutants and one of Callisto's oldest followers, howled in pain as he felt the pain begin to burn his skin as he saw the images swirl past his eyes once more, as they had been doing for a long time; the exact length of which he was unsure. Lucid was 29 years old and stood about 5 feet 6 inches tall with dark brown shoulder-length hair and black eyes, and although wary of new people stood behind his leader Callisto one hundred percent. His job was usually as part of the reconnaissance team for when they (the Morlocks) go above ground to hunt for food, considering that he knows where the best dumpsters and mutant friendly restaurants and stores are, but he can also be found on the protection team in the sewers, his ability to see through solid objects able to alert the others to an oncoming threat when they are two passages away.

Lucid screamed as he saw himself leading Artie, Dorian, and Torpid on a scavenge hunt for food in the local garbage dump. After checking the area and affirming that there was no danger motioned to the three young mutants, who cautiously came out of the sewer. After a while, they had found enough food to last them for at least two weeks and were on their way back to the sewer when shots rang out. Lucid dropped his food and ran forward, managing to push all three of the mutants to the ground in time. Empty cartridges rained down on them and once they had stopped Lucid got up and pushed them ahead, telling Artie to lead them while he went back for the food. Artie nodded and once they had left Lucid ran back and picked up the food, pausing when he heard Dorian screaming in pain. Lucid ran towards where he had heard Dorian's voice but before he got very far he felt himself get shot and, looking down, saw blood running from at least five holes in his stomach. Lucid stumbled forward and his eyes widened as he saw the three bodies on the ground, crumbled and bloodied, not moving. Lucid then collapsed, his unfocused eyes facing the mess in front of him.

The image then switched to when Lucid was doing reconnaissance with Evan and Callisto, looking through the walls for either the FOH, the Brotherhood, or the Acolytes. He told them that the western tunnels were clean but Evan wanted to make sure, and despite Lucid's protests that the tunnels were clear Evan headed down that way, Callisto following him. Lucid groaned and decided to follow them, but before he got very far heard laughter and shots ringing out ahead of him. Lucid ran and arrived just in time to see the FOH beheading a now dead Evan, his body riddled with gaping holes that spurted blood. Callisto was pinned to the wall, bullets being shot into her body as if she was a dartboard, her eye patch around her neck, seemingly choking her. Lucid could only watch and once Callisto had died and Evan's head was off his body, he collapsed to his knees, blaming himself for his error in not making sure that the tunnels were clear before Evan and Callisto went down it to double-check. However, Lucid didn't blame himself for long as he too was killed, a large hole going right through his heart.

_Pietro's Visions:_

Pietro screamed in absolute agony, his nose having been fixed before he was subjected to torture. All he could see was a slide show that showed how much he had hurt Wanda over the years, with the most destructive event – lying to her about her memories – flickering across his mind's eye. He shuddered in pain as he saw the troubled eyes that sat on her face for over five years, signifying that she felt something was wrong but had no clue exactly what was amiss. She would ask him for answers about their father and mother and he would make up lies to please her, not realizing that when she finally did remember her past she would blame him for all her troubles and would hold a grudge against him for over five years.

He screamed louder when he saw the heart-wrenching scene where he had to watch Wanda being taken away into the asylum when they were only six; he could feel how much she was in pain due to the mental link they shared because they were twins; he wished he didn't have to see her leave him but had no choice. He looked up at his father and saw how determined he was to make sure that Wanda was taken away and realized that he could do nothing to help her even though he could feel how much she was suffering now and how much she was going to suffer.

The scenes then switched to a scenario that had occurred just a week ago when he and Lexie had gone out to dinner in a nice restaurant – Chez Noir – followed by a movie at the Bayville cinemas. They were in the theater and Lexie was curled up in Pietro's arms, taking refuge in the strength and heat he radiated for her; after all, it was fairly cold in the theater. He had his chin resting on her midnight blue hair, which was down tonight, and he reveled in how at peace he felt. When he had been with all his other girlfriends, he hadn't felt like this; he had felt like they were just stepping stones on his way to the ultimate goal – which for him was to find the perfect girlfriend – and he had found her in Lexie Howlett. Just when the movie was about to reach its climax, Pietro turned Lexie around and moved to place a soft kiss on her lips when a ripping sound was heard. They both looked up and saw the screen had been ripped in half and there stood his father, who looked royally pissed. Erik screamed at Pietro, calling him weak and insignificant because he had lowered himself to the unnamable level that came with fraternizing with the enemy.

It was in this rage that Lexie, having heard enough from her boyfriend's father's mouth about how weak Pietro was popped her claws and leapt forward to attack, despite Pietro's protests. Lexie let out a snarl of rage when Erik caught her in mid-air, and smirking, twisted her body, using the adamantium in her bones to set her ablaze, as the bones were broken and rearranged in odd angles that left her in severe pain. Erik laughed and before leaving took metal from the projector in the back of the theater and, creating a large fist, rammed it into Lexie's stomach, piercing her lungs, heart, and stomach, blood bursting forth from inside her body. Lexie gasped as she lay on the floor of the theater, where Erik left her, and Pietro rushed over, murmuring soothing words to her as he tried to get through to Forge, demanding that he come and help, but cursed when he found that his phone didn't work. Lexie whispered that she loved Pietro before passing away, the internal damage having been too much for her healing factor to handle, leaving Pietro to howl in pain and rage as he realized that his perfect soul mate had been killed by his own father's hands.

_**Hallways #26, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:00 AM**_

_Caliban's Visions:_

Caliban hissed in pain as he felt his brain begin to burn up in pain from being put under such torture for a long period of time without rest. Caliban was about 35 years old and stood 5 foot 9 inches tall. He had no hair, but his eyes were a slate grey tinted with black, complementing a pale white skin tone. Caliban was one of the founding members of the Morlocks, and such is one of Callisto's must trusted advisors. His job – a recruiter for the Morlocks – involves him traveling from the East coast to the West coast to help various Morlock organizations find and save young mutants.

Caliban hissed louder as he saw himself working to find a new Morlock, who lived on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He saw himself moving through the darkened alleys, hoping to find this young mutant before daybreak hit and he became a more vulnerable target. He spotted a shape huddling against the fierce winter wind and moved towards it, holding out a hand in preparation to offer the mutant reassurance. However, on reaching the form he didn't get a response he moved closer but suddenly recoiled when a beam of moonlight hit the shape to reveal it to be a FOH member, who was smirking at the shocked Caliban.

Caliban turned and ran, trying to escape the fate that he knew was coming and had almost made it to the manhole cover that he had left open when he felt a burning sensation pierce his leg, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. Caliban knew his chances of running were done so he tried to crawl towards the sewer and was almost there when he felt a boot come down on his back, pinning him in place. Caliban twisted his head up to see the barrel of a gun pointed at his head and the last thing he saw was the glint of the bullet as it came out of the gun's barrel to end his life.

Caliban let out a scream this time as he saw himself trying to help Callisto with the influx of new Morlocks, trying to find them places to stay in their home. He saw her struggling with a particularly rude mutant who had eight arms and reptilian like features. Caliban moved over to help Callisto but recoiled in shock when he saw his leader fall to the ground, a shocked look on her face as blood spurted from a wound in her stomach. Caliban, determined to make this newcomer pay, moved towards the mutant, ready to fight him but saw Evan taking on the mutant, anger in his eyes.

Caliban watched, shocked, as Evan, too, fell to the mutant's strength, landing half on a platform and half in the waters of the sewer. This time Caliban didn't waste any time and, running over, landed a solid punch to the mutant's jaw, hearing a satisfying crack, signifying he'd broken something. However, before Caliban had time to put his guard up the mutant struck, grabbing Caliban around his neck and choking him, making sure that all that was left of the mutant who managed to hit him in the jaw was a dead mutant with a broken neck who had been choked to death, as signified by the blue and purple face and large bruise marks. The mutant then dropped Caliban into the sewers, watching with satisfaction as the body floated into the depths of the underground water system, never to be seen again.

_Fred's Visions:_

Fred screamed as he saw himself back in his sophomore year of high school in Bayville, when had just arrived from Indiana. He kept asking for directions, not knowing where he was going or where he was supposed to be but everyone he asked kept rebuffing him, calling him a freak because of his large size. Fred lost his temper and grabbed the nearest jock, who happened to be Duncan Matthews, and, slamming him against the nearest locker demanded him to help him or he would maim him so seriously that he wouldn't be able to do anything for the next two years. Duncan nodded yes, obviously scared, and Fred, satisfied, put him down only to feel a burning sensation in the back of his head. Bringing a hand up to the back of his head Fred's eyes widened when he felt a sticky substance instantly recognizable as blood and after a few moments he began to see everything in double vision. After at least thirty minutes Fred collapsed, causing the entire school to lift of the foundation at least one inch, having died at the hands of humans after only wanting to know where to go on his first day of school.

The images then switched to when he was battling Jean recently in battle, Lance having taken care of Scott by knocking him out cold. Fred charged Jean and managed to break through her mental shield. He grabbed her and ran away from the battle, having knocked her out cold so that she couldn't fight back. When Jean woke up it was to the worried eyes of Fred, who apologized for kidnapping her but he only wished to talk to her. Jean, looking suspicious, agreed after realizing that Fred had been smart enough to put a telepathic inhibitor on her neck, making her powers unusable. Fred talked and after Jean had listened realized that she had been completely wrong about Fred; he had some really good traits and was really better than Scott. She told Fred this and he was so excited that he released her and took off her collar, which he soon realized was a mistake. Jean, smirking, turned around and launched a fiery psychic attack at Fred's brain, switching it off. Before she turned off all power to his heart Jean told him that he would never be good enough for any girl; especially her, perfect Jean. Fred died after having his dreams broken once more by the insensible and insensitive Jean Summers.

_**Hallways #27, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:00 AM**_

_Todd's Visions:_

Todd could only scream as he saw images that made him want to take a shower flood his line of vision. He saw himself in the orphanage he grew up in before being recruited by Raven for the Brotherhood. Here they had done experiments on him in their basement, trying to find out what made him the way he was. They pricked him with needles and gave him untested medication, all in the hopes of either curing him or killing him. However, unlike last time when he had been able to escape and meet up with Raven, who took him into the Brotherhood, Todd could only watch as day after day they came for him and performed experiment after experiment on him until one day he realized that he couldn't fight his fate anymore. That night, Todd fought back and ended up dying for his efforts to regain his basic rights: freedom to live his life the way he wished to and not along the lines of some insane scientists' ambitions in the basement of a orphanage.

Todd screamed louder and cursed as he saw himself at the most disgusting scene he had seen: the gigantic pool at the Xavier Institute. He watched as Wanda sunned herself in the weak sun on the cloudy day, clothed in a blood red tankini, sunglasses over her brilliant sapphire orbs. Todd swooned; she was so beautiful! However, he growled when he noticed his enemy St. John wander over and take a seat beside Wanda, striking up a conversation. Todd hoped that Wanda would get irritated with the pyromaniac and send him into the water, which he loathed with a passion.

However, Todd's jaw dropped when Wanda removed her sunglasses and smiled at John; she never smiled at him so why now?! Todd's blood boiled as he witnessed this scene; it was just disgusting to watch. He then saw her place a small kiss on John's cheek and he grinned widely in response. That was it; Todd couldn't take it anymore. He leapt over to the couple and tossed John into the water, hoping to prove to Wanda that he was her soul mate but failed when he saw her eyes burn silver and blue as she hexed him into the sky at least 100 feet. She then let him drop; Todd watched the ground race to meet him, desperately wishing that Wanda would've seen how good he was and chosen him over that insane, sonofabitch Pyro.

_Piotr's Visions:_

Piotr didn't scream; he only shook as he saw scenes of his family back in St. Petersburg. It was harvest time and they were doing the best they could without him; Illyana, his little sister, was doing the best she could, collecting all the grain she could handle in one load and taking it over to their father, who was up in the hay wagon, stomping all the hay given to him as flat as he could get it. She would then run back for more. Piotr watched, wishing he could be there. However, something went wrong. Illyana was running back to the fields for another armful of grain when she suddenly disappeared inside a dark cloud, causing their parents to scream in shock, rage, sorrow. Piotr tried to warn them; to tell them to not go near the cloud but it was if they couldn't hear him.

His father got down from the wagon and ran towards where Illyana had disappeared, his wife following. They kept running and on reaching the cloud they also vanished inside its murky depths. Piotr armored up and tried to charge the cloud, hoping to ram it with enough strength to free his family but he couldn't move; it was as if something was holding back. He could only watch as it soon disappeared, leaving behind his family, all three dead and their bodies blacked with soot, charcoal, and burns. Next to them was the Greek letter Omega, which stood for "the end of all things". Piotr fell to his knees, not believing that his family was all now gone and he had been unable to do anything to help them at all; nothing at all.

The image then switched to a dream that he often had: he and Kitty were out on a date together in the park, where she was admiring his drawings while he took in the sight of her. He felt lucky; she was his girlfriend and his alone. He was just going to lay a feather-light kiss on her cheek when he felt the ground rumble; a sure signal that Lance was in the area. Sure enough Lance stood a few feet away from them in full battle gear, ready to fight for Kitty's heart. Piotr armored up and charged him, managing to ram him to the ground. He then stepped on him, making sure he couldn't get up and was ready to finish him off when Kitty stopped him. She ran over and told him that she had realized in that instant that she loved Lance and always would. Even though she had had a nice time she preferred Lance over him and, after phasing Piotr off Lance helped him to his feet and walked away, not sparing him a glance. Piotr stood there; he had just lost his Katchya in the span of five minutes. She had abandoned him and broken his heart to go back to some hood instead of him. Not caring who saw him Piotr fell to his knees and wept for his loss.

_**Hallways #28, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:00 AM**_

_Erik's Visions:_

Erik screamed; his helmet had been removed and trashed by the Horseman of Death per Apocalypse's orders, ensuring that Erik was forced to suffer the same torture the others were going through. He screamed as he saw his beloved wife Magda and first daughter Anya; they were all in the park in the summer, Anya demanding that he push her on the swings higher and higher. Erik, laughing, accepted and as he did so he watched Magda as she fed the geese in the pond, her raven black hair in a braid down her back and her gray eyes alight with happiness. He then looked at Anya, who had her mother's black hair and eyes but had his thirst for knowledge, even though she was only seven. She asked him to go higher and he obliged, using a small hint of his powers to push her over the bars, making sure she stayed on the seat. Anya shrieked in happiness, pleased that she had gone higher than she had ever been that day with her father. Erik grinned. He loved this; just him and his family. However, just then the image faded as gunshots rang out, piercing both Magda and Anya in the chests, their eyes growing wide in disbelief and shock. Erik could only watch behind steel gates that wouldn't yield to his powers as his wife and daughter died before him; he did the only thing he could do and that was to cry, not caring who saw him.

The images then switched to him watching what appeared to be a family reunion between his living children and their friends. He saw Wanda happily talking to Rogue, her left hand sparkling with a gold wedding band, the matching one, he noted with a glare, on John's left hand. John was talking to Remy, who had a small girl balanced on his waist who had short auburn hair and black on red eyes. Wanda's hand was lightly resting on her stomach, which seemed a bit bigger; Erik realized that she was pregnant… and that shocked him. He then saw Pietro, his arm around Wolverine's daughter, a sparkling, blue-tinted engagement ring on her left finger. They were happily talking to Warren and Betsy, who were chatting in return, a small boy with a hint of purple wings on his back with amethyst eyes and blond hair balanced on Warren's shoulders. His gaze then switched to his newest child, Lorna, who was currently snuggled in the embrace of Alex Summers, his gaze showing her how much he cared for her. Lorna's emerald eyes were filled with happiness as she snuggled deeper into the embrace, appearing that she never wanted the feeling to end.

Erik stood shocked; all his children had always been pawns to him after Anya and Magda died, but he realized, at that instant, how wrong he had been. They deserved to live their own lives and be with whomever made them happiest. Just as he finished this thought, Apocalypse appeared, demanding that the three children of Magneto show themselves. Wanda, Pietro, and Lorna stepped forward, their significant others behind them. Apocalypse began to speak but before he did anything he was attacked; in retaliation he sent a shockwave powerful enough to destroy everything in its path. Erik screamed in anguish as he saw John and Alex leap in front of Wanda and Lorna respectively, Pietro protecting Lexie as the wave hit; it was no use. The six of them were dead before they hit the ground. Erik mourned the loss of his only living children, realizing that he would never have the chance to make up his errors to them; never.

_Jason's Visions:_

Jason moaned as his head throbbed; he was suffering greatly as his powers were being blocked by his inhibition collar. He let out a heart-wrenching scream as he saw his family, all of whom lived in Naples, across from Mt. Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompeii. He was on his way to see them; to tell them that he had saved up enough money to bring them to America with him where they could live together in peace. He had just told them the news when the ground began to rumble. He looked at the volcano and realized that it was about to explode. He told his family that the volcano was going to erupt but the ignored him, saying that the volcano had been dormant for centuries so it wasn't going to erupt anytime soon. Jason tried to use his telepathic powers to get them to hurry up but nothing worked; they still took their time. Jason saw the lava making its way across the small body of water separating Naples and the volcano then watched with growing dread as the lava began to cross the land, coming closer to him and his family.

Jason finally did what he thought he would never have to do: he gave up. He helped them pack and sat with them, waiting for the bus that would take them to the airport. However, the bus never made it; they never made it out of the house as the lava entered and burned them alive, their remains buried under layers of volcanic ash and dust, only to be excavated 200 years later in an archaeological expedition. Jason had done what his code of honor had stated: he had chosen to stay with his family rather than leave them to die while he lived; the price was death, an illusion that he could never break. This one image rolled around and around in Jason's head for what seemed forever, torturing him and mocking him endlessly, as it pointed out how truly helpless he was to help his family when they needed him the most.

_**Hallways #29, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:00 AM**_

_Professor Charles Xavier's Visions:_

Professor Charles Xavier was plagued by a recurring nightmare that wrecked havoc on his powers and psyche; it drained all of his physical and mental energy every time the images started and ended. Xavier saw himself watching the reunion out on the lawn of the Institute with misty eyes; in front of him he saw all of the mutants he had trained and helped control their powers, even those who had come to him after following Erik's misguided hypothesis of life, hoping to atone for their wrongs. Today they were all gathered on the front lawn of the Institute, comparing notes on their lives and showing off their children, those whom Xavier considered his grandchildren.

He saw Lance and Kitty talking to Warren and Betsy, a small boy of about four on Lance's shoulders with short dark brown hair and blue eyes searching the environment around him with interest while in Kitty's arms rested a small girl, who appeared about two years old, with short light brown hair and Lance's chocolate brown eyes. On Warren's shoulders was balanced a boy of about three years old with short blond hair, amethyst eyes, and the beginnings of purple wings on his back – natural wings and not metal ones – while Betsy stood beside her husband and son, her own amethyst eyes glowing with happiness.

Just a few feet away from them stood Wanda and John, both of whom were talking to Pietro, Lexie, Rogue, and Remy. Wanda was holding a small girl of about three with shoulder-length orange hair and her sapphire eyes, John's arm draped on her shoulders, while Pietro had his arm around Lexie's shoulder, who looked like she was going to give birth any moment; she was only six months along but she and Pietro were expecting twins. Beside Wanda and John stood Remy and Rogue, Rogue glowing with happiness with her role as a mother. Remy had a small girl of about four balanced on his waist, complete with shoulder-length auburn hair and black on red eyes while Rogue had a small boy of about one cradled in her arms, his emerald eyes reaching up to Xavier and touching his heart as he saw that the boy also had auburn hair but with one of Rogue's natural white streaks falling over his left eye.

Xavier shifted his gaze to the left where he saw Roberto and Rahne sitting under a tree, both leaning against the tree's trunk, talking to Alex and Lorna who sat across from them, Lorna leaning back against Alex. While Alex and Lorna had just gotten engaged months ago Roberto and Rahne had been married for over a year and were now expecting. Roberto gently laid a hand on Rahne's abdomen – she was about three months along – and grinned, saying something that earned him a smack from Rahne in the arm. Roberto started to say something back to Rahne while rubbing the spot where she had hit him but on being threatened with another hit he held up his hands and surrendered. Alex and Lorna just laughed, both highly amused at their friends' antics.

A little bit away Jaime was laughing with Todd, Fred, and Piotr over some joke he had told, the four bachelors having formed their own small club. Evan and Danielle were sitting in a tree not too far away from where the bachelors were, sharing a sweet and short kiss that hinted at what was to come in their future. Scott and Jean were out of town at the moment visiting her parents with their four old son and three year old daughter, but in their place stood Ororo and Logan, who were supposed to be supervising. Xavier happened to catch the glint of wedding bands on their left hands and noticed Logan whisper something into Ororo's ear, causing her to smile at him and blush a light pink. He also noted with amusement that Forge was watching them with jealous eyes, obviously wishing to be in Logan's place with Ororo as his wife as he sat a few feet away from them, having also been drafted to supervise (against his will).

Ray and Amara were lounging by the pool, playing it cool but Xavier could just make out the small engagement ring, complete with a ruby and diamond setting, on Amara's left hand and beside them lay Sam and Tabitha, who were holding hands and talking to each other quietly. On the other side of the pool lay Bobby and Jubilee, who like Roberto and Rahne had been married for a little over a year but weren't trying for children at the moment, both wanting to pursue their careers first. He saw them arguing about some minor annoyance and then watched in amusement as they kissed and made up. He then saw Kurt and Amanda, who had flown in from Germany for this reunion. They had been married for a little over three years and already had two children; they were identical two year old twin boys, both with Kurt's dark blue fur, ears, and tail but with Amanda's gentle brown eyes; both of the boys, unlike their father had five fingers and toes on each hand and foot respectively. Kurt and Amanda were making their way over to Sean and Moira, each carrying one of the twins in their arms.

He then saw Sean and Moira, who had been married for about five years, and instead of trying for a child of their own had decided to adopt. Next to them stood a small boy who appeared about seven and a small girl who seemed to be six, both with dark yellow hair and gray eyes; both of whom Xavier assumed were their children. Sean saw Kurt and his family coming over and went to greet them, followed by Moira and the children. Xavier knew all of his X-Sword team – including Opal and Leon – who had joined the Institute a few years ago, were training with Hank in the Danger Room and knew some relationships were developing amongst the team; he felt it. He also knew that besides Evan the rest of the Morlocks didn't feel comfortable coming to the reunion, even though they had chosen to become an unofficial branch of the X-Men, operating undercover.

As Xavier watched this scene he heard the roar of helicopters and something else… God no, Sentinels… were heading towards the Institute. Xavier tried to send a warning but couldn't; his powers weren't working. He could only watch as the roar of the approaching vehicles caught the mutants' attention and all of them instantly blanched with fear. Those who had children tried to rush them towards the safety of the Institute but none made it that far. Three Sentinels landed in front of them, blocking their escape. All of the mutants on the lawn were now together, forming a circle around the children, with Moira, Amanda, Rahne, Lexie, and Danielle joining the children, who had been charged with doing their best to protect the children; Rahne and Lexie because they were expecting.

With the children's lives and their own at stake the mutants in the circle attacked, but they underestimated the gigantic machines. Lorna and Alex tried to double team one Sentinel alone, with Lorna trying to use her powers to rip away the chest plate so she could give Alex a clear shot. However, Lorna soon found that her powers had no effect on this robot and was hit in the arm, causing her to lose her concentration and fall from the sky, Alex managing to catch her. Roberto, in an effort to protect his wife and unborn child, teamed up with Sam, Tabitha, Amara, and Ray to take down a Sentinel. As they all powered up – Roberto maxing out his strength numerous times due to the abundant sunlight that day – the Sentinel launched a missile that caught them all off guard, sending Roberto into the wall of the Institute, leaving an indentation while Sam and Tabitha were flung into the pool and Amara and Ray were sent flying onto the roof.

The third Sentinel was beaten from a combination of attacks from Sean, Remy, Rogue, John, Wanda, Warren, and Betsy, but just barely. Rogue, Wanda, and Betsy had exerted all their strength in the effort and didn't have enough left to stop the next attack that sent them into the pool with Sam and Tabitha. Their husbands tried and managed to damage the second Sentinel but ended being flung halfway across the lawn and into the woods while Sean was sent flying into the front gates of the school. Bobby, Jubilee, Logan, Ororo, Forge, Lance, Kitty, Todd, Jaime, and Evan were taking care of the helicopters and the troops that were coming out of them by the dozen but no matter how hard they tried more troops kept coming. Fred and Piotr teamed up to take down the damaged Sentinel and then with help from Alex, Lorna, Ray and Amara (who were still on the roof) managed to take down the last Sentinel. They then rushed to protect the children, who were threatened by the troops, with Warren helping Ray and Amara get down off the roof.

Xavier watched with growing apprehension the battle on the lawn before him. Rahne – beyond pissed that her husband had been knocked out – shifted into her werewolf form and started slashing any troop member who was foolish enough to get close to her, being careful to protect her child. Pietro had rejoined his wife and was currently protecting her as best he could while she was trying to protect their unborn children. Remy and Rogue, who were just as pissed as Rahne at the current situation, soon joined them. Sean, John, Wanda, Warren, and Betsy had gone to help the trapped mutants but were soon overwhelmed as well. Roberto woke up and shook off the confusion he was feeling from being sent into the wall of the school and rushed to protect Rahne, who was getting bruises and cuts from the troops' weapons, forcing her to morph back into her human form. Xavier watched as Hank and the X-Sword team rushed out of the mansion and jumped into the fray to help, but in the end all of the mutants were overwhelmed.

Xavier's began to scream as he watched the battle grow in intensity, seeing Moira, Amanda, and Danielle battling off the foot soldiers as best they could but they were soon knocked over. His screams grew louder as he saw the troops capture all of the mutants and place mutation inhibition collars on them, preventing them from using their powers, knocking Amanda unconscious to stop her from using her magical powers.

They then took all of the children from where they had been huddled, scared to death, and loaded them into a separate van, amidst the screaming of their parents. Kitty, using explicit words threatened to castrate the troops if they touched her children, earned her a slap on the face, leaving a huge red mark on her face. Lance began to threaten the troops as well but was forced to shut up as a knife was pressed against his neck, the troops threatening to kill him in front of his wife and children if he didn't shut up. Logan snarled out some choice words and threats but ended up getting punched in the gut and head. Logan coughed up some blood, his healing factor having been disabled by the inhibition collar. He lifted his head and opened his mouth to say something else, not caring about how much pain he was in, and, when the troops approached with a syringe popped out his claws and managed to kill at least a dozen troops before he was finally subdued.

The troops then looked over all the women and when they saw that Lexie and Rahne were expecting took out syringes and moved towards them to put them into an unconscious state so they could take them away. Lexie's claws, like Logan's, were not a part of her natural mutation so she was able to kill four of the troops by sticking her four hand claws into their hearts while her foot claws cut off the legs of at least four other troops foolish enough to come close to her. The soldiers were then forced to shoot the syringe into her neck from a distance, which did knock her out. Pietro began to struggle against his chains in an attempt to break free and save Lexie but couldn't; he didn't have the strength. He could only watch as they took Lexie away from him and Rahne and Roberto, who were near the end of the line of mutants, were faring no better.

Rahne had begun snarling and kicking as best she could while Roberto did the same, having a bit more movement in his chains than his wife did. Rahne managed to hit at least four troops below the belt – hard – while Roberto managed to knock six unconscious. The troops finally resorted to using darts to subdue Rahne, who soon fell unconscious; Roberto fought as hard as he could to protect Rahne but failed; he too was knocked out, and while he was unconscious they took Rahne and put her in the same van with Lexie. They then saluted farewell and drove off, leaving a mass of crying parents on the lawn of the Institute, with a stunned, sorrow-consumed and guilt-ridden Professor Charles Xavier watching, pained that he did nothing to protect his children and grandchildren. He had watched as parents were separated from their children, wives from their husbands… he would never be able to forgive himself; never.


	54. Remy and Rogue's Chronicles: Rescues,

**Disclaimer:** I had to take my computer to the repair shop, so in the meantime I have elected to research tried and true methods to acquire ownership of the X-Men...

**A/N:** – Double-checks calendar – What a surprise! It's been less than a month, and I have an update for you! How awesome is that? I know that I happen to very… irregular with updates, but I really am trying to make it up to you guys. I really appreciate everyone who's stuck with me, so I dedicate this chapter to each and every one of you. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 53: Remy and Rogue's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 1**

**_Hallway #2, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:15 AM_**

As Rogue, Remy, Bobby, Amara, and Lucas approached the steel door that led to hallway #2 Lucas stopped them.

"Hold it…" he muttered, making sure that they listened. "If Ay remember right, there's some kind of trap on this door; give me a moment…" Lucas lifted his right hand and the others watched as it began to glow light purple. He then shot a small, concentrated beam at the door, which responded by revealing a type of force field that flickered with the energy being shot at it. Lucas narrowed his eyes and the amount of energy he emitted grew, causing the shield on the door to hiss angrily until it finally vanished. He then turned around and motioned to the others that it was safe to enter.

Rogue, nodding, moved to the forefront and, making sure everyone had a hand on her phased them through the door and into the small hallway. Once inside she had to put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming in anguish as she saw Hank and Torpid screaming in utter agony.

Lucas, his mouth set in a grim line, said, "Beast and the lass have mutation inhibitor collars on, stopping them from usin' their powers, and each cell is set tae cause the mutant inside tae experience their worst nightmares time and again; 'twas Apocalypse's idea, tha' it was. We need tae break them free without setting off the alarms on the outside of each cell door. Amara and Bobby weren't heavily protected because their hall was originally for traitors but Apocalypse ran out of secured hallways quickly; he had to put Amara and Bobby in there. However, from this hallway on each has the exact same seal on the door tae prevent everyone except for those whom Apocalypse tolerates from gettin' in or out."

"Well den, all we need ta do is phase through da bars ta free 'em; oui?" Remy asked, having turned his gaze to Rogue, who had naturally made herself field commander.

"Right," Rogue answered, nodding her head in agreement with Remy's assumption. "We're goin' ta spilt up into two teams: Remy, yah and Bobby take care of Hank and Amara and Ah will help the girl… Lucas, yah need to make sure tha' no one comes in and sees us; got it?" On getting nods from all involved Rogue gave the signal: "Go!"

Remy and Bobby quietly approached Hank's cell, but before Bobby could move Remy placed a hand on his shoulder, and on getting a questioning look Remy merely pointed to small sparks that, if one was looking for them, were easily seen. Bobby asked Remy, _"Now what?"_

_"Watch,"_ Remy answered, grinning as he did so. He walked up to the bars and, taking out a small metal ball from inside his trench coat carefully placed it on the bars. Bobby watched in avid fascination as all of the electricity that was on the bars instantly went for the metal ball, leaving the rest of the door harmless.

"Gotcha…" Bobby breathed, amazed at Remy's intelligence, and thinking that maybe having him on his side wasn't such a bad idea after all. Remy nodded and, making sure they were touching, phased through Hank's door and into the cell. They had to be careful, though; Hank was thrashing around in an attempt to break free of his nightmares, but unfortunately this method wasn't working.

"Careful Remy," Bobby whispered, moving slowly towards his teacher. "I've seen Mr. McCoy like this before when he was trapped in a Danger Room session and if we get hit we are out flat." Bobby winced as he said the last part; the reason he knew that was because he had been the one who had gone unconscious after Hank had whacked him with his arm in the aforementioned Danger Room session.

Remy nodded and, copying Erik's ability to hover in the air, moved towards Hank, making sure to do so silently. Once he was floating over Hank Remy used Betsy's telekinetic powers to hold Hank still. He then nodded at Bobby, who sent out a thin stream of ice at the collar around Hank's neck, freezing it solid without freezing any of Hank's fur. Remy then concentrated on Scott's power and, releasing an extremely thin and concentrated beam of red energy sliced through the frozen collar, taking his time in doing so. After a minute Hank stopped thrashing as the collar came off, falling to the floor of the cell in a dozen pieces of metal and ice.

"Oh my stars and garters," Hank muttered as he lifted a hand to his forehead, trying to deal with the sudden throbbing of pain that attacked him from having been subjected to mental torture for a long amount of time. He looked up and saw the brown eyes of Bobby, who was kneeling in front of him. "Bobby?"

"Yeah, Mr. McCoy; it's me," Bobby replied, grinning. He was glad to see that his teacher was fine. "Listen: we need your help to free the others from their prison cells but in order to do so Remy needs to heal you first; is that okay?"

"Remy?" Hank asked, not sensing that Remy was in the cell with Bobby and himself. Bobby, still grinning, pointed up and as Hank looked above him his eyes widened in shock as he saw Remy hovering above him, waving hello, smirking as he did so.

"Bonjour, Monsieur McCoy (Hello, Mr. McCoy)," Remy said, smirking as he saw that Hank hadn't responded to what he was seeing.

"My God…" Hank breathed, watching as Remy shrugged and lowered himself to the ground, landing on his feet without a problem. "How can you do that, Gambit?" Hank asked, the scientist in him leaping out at the chance that he could have an evolved mutant in front of him.

Remy shrugged and didn't reply. He instead moved toward Hank and, kneeling, asked, "Monsieur McCoy, will you allow Remy ta heal you?" On getting a silent nod from Hank Remy took off one of his gloves and, placing his hand on Hank's face, glowed pure white as he transferred his energy to Hank, healing him both physically and mentally, leaving no scars behind.

Once he'd finished, Remy put back on his glove and, nodding to Bobby to help Hank up, walked towards the bars of the cell. Once Bobby and Hank were standing beside him Remy grabbed them both by the shoulder and phased them through the bars, with Hank staying silent on what was going on until they were out of the cell. Once out, Hank began bombarding Remy with questions as the Cajun carefully removed the metal ball with his Bo pole, knocking the ball to the floor and all three watched as a large spark flew up from where the ball had been, returning to its former position as guardian of the door.

Remy retrieved the metal ball, turned to Hank and said, "Remy tell vous (you) later, Beast; right now, we need ta help Lucas keep guard." Remy motioned to Lucas, who was intently watching the door to the hallway, determined to help his new friends in any way he could.

Rogue and Amara, meanwhile, were facing the same guardian on the door to Torpid's cell but unlike the men, they had a much simpler solution. Amara examined the electrified bars from a distance and after judging how much energy she needed to use to disable the bars acted. Flaring up Amara shot a concentrated stream of lava at the door, making sure to just disable the bars for the amount of time it would take for Rogue to phase them through and to the girl.

The bars' defense system soon sputtered and died, allowing Rogue to grab Amara's arm and quickly phase them through the bars; as soon as they were inside the cell the electricity started up again, crackling with unspent energy from the short amount of time it had died. Amara powered down and watched as Rogue tried to grab the girl's arms without hurting her. It took her a few minutes but Rogue finally managed to grab the girl and nodded to Amara to do her thing. Flaring up once more Amara shot a concentrated stream of lava at the collar that was situated around the girl's neck. Narrowing her eyes in concentration Amara managed to cut through the collar, completely roasting its internal workings. As the collar fell Torpid's eyes snapped open and she looked around her wildly, trying to figure out where she was. On seeing Rogue, whom she recognized from photos that Evan had let her see a few times she flung herself into Rogue's arms, relishing in the feeling of safety that emanated from the woman.

Rogue was surprised; how did this girl know her? Then, a long forgotten memory surfaced and Rogue suddenly knew who this girl was. Putting Torpid at arm's length she asked, "You're Torpid, right?"

Torpid enthusiastically nodded, ecstatic that Rogue knew her. She then began communicating with her hands, hoping that Rogue understood sign language. Rogue nodded as she took in what Torpid told her and Amara watched as her face darkened. She stopped Torpid with her hand and, speaking gently, asked, "Torpid, do you mind if I heal you using my powers?"

Torpid nodded no; she somehow knew that Rouge was in control of the absorption powers that Evan had told her she had. As Torpid closed her eyes Rogue took off a glove and gently touched the young woman's face, glowing white as she gave Torpid energy that healed all of the wounds that had been inflicted on her in the past few days.

When she'd finished, Rogue slipped back on her glove and nodded to Amara, who once more shorted out the door, allowing Rogue to phase the three of them through the bars and back into the hallway. As soon as they had exited the cell the electricity once more crackled to life, almost touching Rogue, who had followed the other young women out of the cell, her hands on their shoulders.

Once back out in the hallway Lucas turned around and smiled when he saw that Beast and the young girl were all right; honestly, he couldn't deal with any more guilt over anymore mutants who were hurt, even if he hadn't been the direct cause of their suffering.

"Rogue, are you all right?" Hank asked, concerned for the well being of his friend, fellow instructor and former student.

Rogue smiled on seeing that Hank was okay and responded, "Of course; nothing can destroy the Rogue!" Hank grinned at this; he was glad to see that even in the dark situation they were in Rogue hadn't lost her humor.

Lucas came over and said, "As glad as Ay am at seeing ye all and knowing ye're alright we must move quicker; the Master Plan's goin' tae start soon and we cannae afford tae waste time." Rogue and Remy nodded, remembering what Lance had told them; that one of their last allies in the group of eight needed to defeat Apocalypse was in greater danger than originally had been thought.

After a little bit of conversing it was agreed that they would all spilt up, so that they could cover the vast territory of Asteroid Evolution more quickly. The groups were to be Remy, Bobby, Hank, and Amara while Rogue would take Lucas and Torpid with her. Remy assured Rogue that he had the complex memorized, a fact that Rogue doubted but trusted that her boyfriend knew his way around well enough to find the others.

"There are twenty-nine cells in total," Lucas said as he explained the security systems for the remaining hallways. "We already rescued those imprisoned in hallways one and two but tha' leaves twenty-seven hallways left. Remy, ye and yer group take hallways three through sixteen and me group'll take hallways seventeen tae twenty-eight. We'll then meet up in front of hallway twenty-nine; tha's where me dad is," finished Lucas gravely, not noticing the shocked expressions on the others' faces.

Hank spoke first, "You mean to tell us, Mr. Haller, that your father – Charles Xavier – is also trapped here on this godforsaken asteroid with the rest of us?" On seeing Lucas nod Hank let out a deep breath, saying a prayer that his mentor and friend would be all right.

Remy and Rogue stood off to one side, Rogue leaning onto Remy for comfort.

"Remy… will we be able ta do what we have ta? Ah mean, Lance, Kitty, John, and Wanda are trapped and tha other two don't even know tha' they're a god and goddess…" Rogue whispered, letting fear slip into her voice.

Remy slowly stroked Rogue's hair, trying to relax her, and when that didn't work turned her to face him and gently placed a kiss on her forehead. "Remy knows, chère, dat we will come out of dis fine… I just know it," he whispered, pleased when Rogue smiled a little, gaining confidence in the difficult task they had ahead of them from Remy's words. She responded to Remy's kiss by giving him a quick peck on the mouth and then moved towards the others, who hadn't noticed their exchange.

"All right, let's move out!" Rogue said and after explaining to Hank and Torpid about the precautions that had to be taken when they moved under the cloak of invisibility the mutants spilt up, all with the same goal: rescue the others and meet at Xavier's cell to free him. They would then save the world; again.


	55. Remy's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 2

**Disclaimer:** Nothing to report on the research front, but I'll let you know when I have something…

**A/N:** – Double-checks calendar – Wow; a little more than a month and I'm back with another update. Very nice. I know that I happen to very… irregular with updates, but I really am trying to make it up to you guys. I really appreciate everyone who has stuck with me, so I dedicate this chapter to each and every one of you. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter** **54: Remy's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 2**

**_En route to Hallways #7, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:29 AM_**

As Remy's group ran along the hallways, Bobby couldn't help but think that it was his fault that his team was on this stupid asteroid.

"I should have been a better leader," Bobby muttered, not at all pleased that all of the skills he had been preaching about for years hadn't done a damn thing when they were needed the most; in fact, they had failed.

_"Now dat ain't true, homme,"_ Remy scolded Bobby telepathically, making sure to remind him that they were only to speak telepathically. _"Ton team follows tu because they know dat tu are the best homme for the job; got it?"_

Remy had let Amara hear what he was telling Bobby and she chimed in with her own opinion as well. _"Remy's right, Bobby; we all rely on you to lead us; hell, we respected you when you offered to let Alex lead instead of yourself and honestly, those of us who were with you from the get-go were glad that Alex turned down the opportunity. You are the best at what you do; ask your girlfriend, she'll tell you straight."_ Bobby turned to Amara after he had heard her words and flashed his patented 'Thanks for reminding me that I'm not such a big jerk.' smile.

Remy and his group stopped when they came to a steel doorway. Remy examined the door and noticed a small plaque that said "Hallway # 7".

_"Well, it seems dat our enemy likes to have everything categorized; oui?"_ Remy sarcastically asked, earning him a murmur of agreements. Remy then dredged up the memory of how Lucas had opened the previous door and, narrowing his eyes, launched a small light purple energy stream with the same amount of power at the door, while the others, especially Hank, watching in utter shock.

Once the shield had died down, Remy phased his group through the door where they were met with the sight of Jubilee and Façade screaming in pain.

"Oh my stars and garters," Hank muttered, shocked beyond belief at what he was seeing. Bobby, having caught sight of his girlfriend's yellow jacket ran straight to her cell door, worried for her.

"Jubes, Jubes can you hear me?" Bobby whispered, aching to touch the bars and get her out, but remembering the electricity that coated the bars refrained from touching the bars. He paled when he heard Jubilee yell out that he was dead, and that she was going to kill Sabretooth for killing him.

Hank came up behind Bobby and, placing a hand on his shoulder, said, "Don't worry, Robert; we will get Jubilee and all of the others free and get back to the Institute. Trust me." Bobby nodded and was about to respond to Hank's statement when he was struck with inspiration.

"I wonder," Bobby muttered, icing up, covering his body in his element and, sticking out a hand sent out a concentrated stream of ice at the bars of the cell, freezing the metal and the electricity that had covered it solid. Once he was done, Hank, curious, walked forward to the bars and rapped a large paw against the bars, grinning when the bars instantly fell, cracking as the ice broke. Bobby, grinning, ran through the opening and knelt before Jubilee, retracting his ice armor as he did so, trying to stop her from struggling. After a minute, he succeeded and nodded to Hank to come and remove the collar. Hank moved forward and carefully removed the collar, taking his time in snapping it off. Once he did so Jubilee fell forward, with Bobby catching her, while Hank threw the collar behind him, feeling a perverse satisfaction as it hit the wall.

Jubilee opened her eyes and on seeing Bobby whispered, "Bobby… is that you?" On getting a nod, she grinned, threw her arms around Bobby's neck and hugged him tight, breathing in the scent that was uniquely him. She felt Bobby stroking her hair in a reassuring gesture, and she sighed in contentment. Bobby wasn't dead and that was what mattered; that was all that mattered right now.

Hank cleared his throat and, grinning, said, "As much as I enjoy seeing you two together we need to go and get Remy to heal Jubilee." Jubilee looked confused until she saw the Cajun thief outside the bars, grinning.

While Bobby and Hank had rescued Jubilee, Remy and Amara had gone into the other cell and rescued Façade, who had almost faded into the wall of his cell once free of the dreadful collar. However, after Amara and Remy had explained what was going on, Façade, still wary, accepted Remy's request to heal him. Once healed, Façade had followed his rescuers out of the cell, vowing to get revenge on the mutant who had captured him, find the rest of his family, and make sure that they were all right.

Bobby helped Jubilee to her feet and together they walked out of the cell, Hank following them. Once in front of Remy Jubilee asked, "Gambit, what are you doing here?"

Remy shrugged and replied, "Well, petite, Remy be with you guys; he and Rogue are leading the mission to rescue everyone who's in these cells. Den, together, we are goin' to defeat Apocalypse. Dat sound okay?" Jubilee nodded, then, on realizing what Remy had just said was shocked.

Remy looked around and, chuckling, sheepishly added, "Did Remy forget to mention dat Apocalypse is back?" On getting shocked nods, including Façade who had heard from Evan about the ancient mutant, Remy said, "Désole, mes amis."

Bobby snapped out of his stupefied trance and said, "Remy, can you heal Jubes?"

Remy nodded and, taking off a glove gently touched Jubilee's face and transferred some of his energy to her. Jubilee closed her eyes, relishing in the feeling of regaining energy that had been lost along with her powers. When Remy had finished she opened her eyes and, taking her weight off Bobby hugged Remy, saying, "Thank you, Remy. I'm sure that you and Rogue will make an awesome couple."

Remy said, mystified, "Who said dat Remy and Rogue were together?" Jubilee merely grinned and looked to her boyfriend, who nodded in agreement, an identical smile on his face.

Façade watched this until he had enough and said, "Listen, we can talk later; right now we need to find everyone else, including the other Morlocks. So, let's go!" Remy and the others were silent, knowing that he was right. After explaining the rules for traveling in the hallway, Remy phased them through the hall and ran towards the next hallway, Remy anxiously hoping that Rogue was doing fine on her end.

**_Hallway #4, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:39 AM_**

The next hallway that Remy and his group entered was hallway #4, which contained a snarling Logan and screaming Forge. Remy went pale on seeing Logan.

"Umm… Remy thinks dat he go rescue Forge and you all go and help Monsieur Wolverine," Remy said nervously, not looking forward to seeing Logan; or Logan seeing him for that matter. Remy grabbed Bobby and Jubilee, dragging them over to Forge's cell and directed them to break through the shield. Bobby and Jubilee looked amused as they watched Remy sweat over Logan seeing him and, grinning evilly at each other vowed they would make sure that Logan wouldn't maim Remy; at least, not that badly. The two leaders of X-Factor then combined their powers and managed to break through the bars, which clattered to the floor with a resounding thud.

"Bon travail (Good job)," Remy commented, rushing into the cell as soon as Bobby and Jubilee had finished. He knelt before Forge and, once more calling on the telekinetic powers he had seen Betsy use held Forge still, motioning with his hand that Bobby come forward and remove the collar. Bobby shot a stream of ice at the collar, making sure that it would disintegrate upon contact. Bobby nodded to his girlfriend, who went forward and flicked the collar, the contraption turning to dusty frost in an instant.

Forge opened his eyes and upon seeing Remy in front of him backed up, bringing up his arms in front of him in the form of pistols aimed at the Cajun. "What do you want, Gambit?" he demanded, not trusting the fact that Remy was watching him with an amused smirk on his face.

"Chill, Forge," Jubilee said, and Forge looked over to her. "Remy is with us. In fact, he's here to help rescue us so we can go and save the world again!"

"But why is he helping us?! He recently attacked the school and his damn leader almost ripped my arms off!" Forge replied darkly, remembering what Erik had done to him.

"Forge, listen to Remy. Remy was under de impression dat he was helping Erik, but Erik was really under de control of Apocalypse. We need to work together so dat we can save de world. Will you trust me and let me heal you?" Remy explained. Forge, watching Remy warily, converted his arms back to normal, and nodded, ready to trust the Cajun. Remy grinned and healed Forge, the mechanical genius in shock as he felt all of his injuries go away, both physical and mental. Remy finished and as Forge got up from the ground, he offered a hand to Remy in a gesture of trust. Remy took it and the two shook. They then heard a growl and snarl from behind them and Remy stiffened, turning around slowly to stare into the angry black eyes of Logan Howlett.

While Remy, Bobby, and Jubilee had been rescuing Forge, Hank and his small group had freed Logan from his collar. Logan, as he was being freed had said something that Hank had filed away for later use; something dealing with a certain weather-witch… However, once free Logan had sniffed the air and, recognizing Remy's scent had charged past Hank, Amara, and Façade, the latter of whom had muttered something along the lines of "crazy sonofabitch". This brings us to our current situation.

"Well, well, well; if it ain't the Cajun Gambit," Logan growled, pleased when he saw Remy pale considerably. "I believe that it's time I keep my promise to gut you and string your remains on a clothesline that I made during our last encounter; don'cha think?" Logan raised his right hand and ejected his set of adamantium claws, preparing to gut Remy but was stopped when he felt Hank grab him from behind.

"Hank, what the hell do ya think you're doin'?" Logan snarled, struggling to get loose but Hank's grip was stronger, if only because Logan's healing factor had just started working again whereas Hank was ata full strength.

"Logan, listen to me; Remy is on our side, and we need him if we ever have a hope of defeating Apocalypse a second time!" Hank pleaded, saying the one name of anenemy Logan hated more than Sabretooth, if that was possible.

"What?" Logan asked, stopping his struggling so he could turn and face Hank. Hank nodded in confirmation of his previous statement.

"You're serious?" Logan asked, his eyes searching his colleague's for the truth. On seeing that Hank was telling the truth, Logan snorted. "I don' believe this," he muttered, retracting his claws.

"Remy tellin' de truth, homme," Remy said, speaking up for the first time since Logan had entered Forge's cell. Logan glared at him and, sniffing the air suddenly growled.

"You smell like Rogue; what did ya do to her?!" Logan demanded his face twisted into a snarl. Remy gulped; he wished fervently that at this time Logan didn't have his enhanced senses.

"Don't worry, Wolvie," Jubilee spoke up from beside Logan, causing him to face her. "Rogue knew what she was getting into when she trusted Remy," she said, earning her a glare from Remy.

"Damn it, Cajun!" Logan screamed, not pleased at all that Rogue had chosen this idiotic Cajun despite the more than one hundred and fifty times he had tried to convince her that he was no good. "If you so much as hurt a hair on her head you will die by my hands; got it?"

Remy nodded and was surprised when Logan stuck out his hand. He carefully took it and shook it, relieved when Logan didn't harm, maim, or slice him to pieces.

"Now what?" Logan asked, looking around him and landing on Hank, who nodded to Remy. Logan turned his attention to Remy once again and this time Remy saw that Logan trusted him; however, the Cajun knew he was treading on thin ice with the fighter. One move backwards and it'd be all downhill, a journey that Remy somehow knew he'd not live to see the end of, if Logan had any say.

"We go and rescue de others," Remy said, and letting Hank explain to both Forge and Logan the story with traveling in the halls Remy phased them through the door and they once more set off for the next hallway.


	56. Remy's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **Still nothing on the report side… I keep failing in my attempts at hacking into those damn lawyer's hard drives…

_**A/N: **_– Double-checks calendar – Oh my god, this is amazing! I'm updating this story for _a second time_ this month! I swear, this is a record! I would help that this helps you guys to begin to reconcile my long updates. I've really been trying this summer, and it's paid off. I really appreciate everyone who has stuck with me, so I dedicate this chapter to each and every one of you. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 55: Remy's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 3**

**_Hallway #6, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 1:50 AM_**

Remy and the group reached hallway #6 where Façade saw Evan and Callisto screaming in agony. He rushed towards Callisto's cage and reached for the bars, but Remy beat him to it and grabbed his arms. He shook his head and pointed to the bars, which, upon closer inspection were crackling with electricity. Remy motioned Bobby and Jubilee to come over and, as they had done with Forge's cell, they fried the bars. This allowed Façade to run in and hold Callisto still; Callisto still struggled, but not as much as she might have if anyone but a Morlock had tried to touch her.

After a few minutes, Façade nodded to Remy and the Cajun came in and, accessing Scott's power carefully sliced the collar in two, and as the metal hit the ground Callisto opened her eyes. The first thing the Morlocks' leader saw was Façade, who was looking at her, concern evident in his eyes.

"Façade?" Callisto croaked her voice hoarse from screaming. When Façade nodded, Callisto grinned and, getting to her feet – to the amazement of Remy – hugged her fellow Morlock. Callisto, though she'd never admit it verbally, was glad to see that a member of her family was alive and healthy and not dead, as she had originally imagined.

Remy cleared his throat and asked Callisto if he could heal her, a question that had become part of his arsenal. Callisto eyed Remy warily not sure if she should trust a surface-dweller, especially one with demonic-looking eyes. However, as Callisto listened as Façade explained what was going on, and how they needed to be at full strength to take on Apocalypse; when she heard the Egyptian's name she snarled.

"That bastard is here?! He's the one who sent that son-of-a-bitch Sabretooth to come and took all of us captive! Where is he?! I'm going to slice his neck!" Callisto moved to leave the cell but Bobby and Jubilee blocked her way. The three glared at each other until Callisto sighed and muttered, "Fine, Gambit; heal me, oh mighty one."

Remy, grinning, healed the Morlock leader who gave him a look that said she would've been fine without Remy's help. She then left the cell and, looking around saw that across from her Evan was just waking up from his collar-induced stupor. "Spyke?" Callisto called out and Evan looked up at his leader.

"Callisto! Man, am I glad to see you!" Evan exclaimed, glad to see his leader was fine. Evan tried to get to his feet while trying to cover his body in the protective spikes that he had come to rely on in the past few years. However, not realizing how weak he really was Evan stumbled and would have hit the hard metal floor face-first if he Logan and hadn't caught him.

"Whoa, slow down there, Porcupine," Logan said, making sure to use the nickname he had given Evan years ago to catch his attention. "You're weak from the battle that got you here in the first place along with the barrage of mental images you were experiencing; believe me, I know," Logan said, thinking back to the nightmares that he had been forced to endure for what seemed ages.

Evan glared up at Logan, knowing that the Canadian knew how much the Morlock hated the nickname Porcupine. However, when Logan glared back at him and Hank agreed with Logan, Evan sighed and said, "Fine. I'll 'slow down', as you put it." Evan then stood up again, this time leaning onto Logan for support. Logan and Evan walked out of the cell, Amara, Hank, and Forge following. Evan saw Remy and snarled, demanding, "What's he doing here?!"

Façade stepped forward and told Evan what he had been told and Evan, not sure if he heard correctly asked, "Apocalypse's back?!" Remy nodded yes and Evan saw his memories of the horrific battle return, especially the images of seeing his aunt possessed by Apocalypse; those ones he had definitely tried not to remember. "Damn… now what?" Evan asked, not really expecting an answer.

Callisto, however, gave her second-in-command an answer. "Spyke, here's what you do: let Gambit heal you, come with us so we can rescue all of the other Morlocks and other mutants, then we take down Sabretooth and Apocalypse. Got it?" Evan nodded but Logan tensed.

"Sabretooth's alive?!" he snarled, not believing his ears. Lance had killed him; hell, the kid had confirmed it himself, with input from Forge! On getting nods from the Morlocks, Logan snarled, "Fine; this time I'll make sure he stays dead!" Evan slowly moved away from Logan and towards Remy, allowing the Cajun to heal him. Evan felt his energy returning to him, and he could feel his vengeful streak emerge; he was going to take down not only Sabretooth for capturing the Morlocks, but that damn Apocalypse as well, for what he had done to his aunt. At that thought, he looked around and noticed that the one person he wanted to see and assure himself that she was okay wasn't with them.

"Where's Auntie O?" Evan asked Logan, who looked away guiltily, telling Evan that he wished he knew where Ororo was, but also vowing that he would find her. The group, after hearing from Hank how to travel in the hallways, along with it taking both Evan and Façade calming Callisto down enough for her to agree to take orders for a while instead of giving them, the group left for the next hall.

_**Hallway #8, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 2:10 AM**_

The next hallway was #8, where Hank, Logan, Amara, Forge, and Jubilee rescued Jaime from his cell, albeit while dealing with the young man's barrage of questions that got on all of their nerves for at least five minutes, except for Hank. The scientist was used to hearing much larger barrages of questions from Jaime, and found it amusing to no end that the youngest member of the X-Factor team was able to get under Logan's skin so easily. Jaime's questions kept coming until Logan lost his temper and threatened to skewer Jaime on his claws after they had returned to the mansion. Jaime laughed weakly, and agreed to stop his endless amount of questions, offering in return to use his clones to go and scout the rest of the territory that Remy had yet to cover.

"Come on, me and my clones can go and scout out the other hallways so we can find everyone else more quickly," Jaime argued, set on making himself more useful than he had been in their last battle.

Remy nodded his head no and replied, "Dat can' be done, homme; too dangerous. If de other Horsemen or Apocalypse catch tu out dere den you'll be killed… and Rogue'd have moi head." Jaime stared at Remy for a moment, trying to wrap his mind around the comment he'd made about Rogue until he got it and, looking to Jubilee to make sure he was on the right track grinned.

"So Remy; you and Rogue, huh?" Jaime innocently asked, hoping to get Remy to answer without thinking but Remy, having been told by Lance how Jaime had gotten him to admit that he was dating Kitty (again) in Logan's hearing range two years ago didn't answer Jaime's question; he merely asked Jaime if he could heal him, to which Jaime agreed instantly. If Jaime was honest with himself, he had always thought that Gambit and Avalanche were cool; hey, if they could tolerate Rogue and Kitty for long periods of time then they were good in his book.

Meanwhile, Bobby, Callisto, Evan, Façade, and Remy had freed Dorian, who, at first, had accidentally used his powers as soon as his collar off was off. However, once Evan had reassured his friend that Remy and Bobby were there to help, Dorian had allowed Remy to heal him, which said mutant had done quickly, not appreciating the feeling of not being in touch with his mutant powers.

Dorian walked out of his cell behind Evan and, on seeing Jaime grinned. Dorian walked over to Jaime and said, "You are able to create clones, right?" When Jaime nodded Dorian continued, "Then why not just use them to stop our enemy?" Jaime grinned at this, shooting a look at Remy, who shrugged, and shook his head in the negative to Jaime's unspoken question.

"I think that this is the start of a beautiful friendship," Jaime commented, reaching out to shake Dorian's hand, to which Dorian did the same. They then began talking up a storm and all those watching were shocked at how quickly they got along.

Evan groaned and, slapping a hand to his head commented, "This was a bad idea; now Dorian and Jaime are going to be plotting more than he does alone with Torpid and Artie."

After Hank had once more explained that Apocalypse was back, the group moved on to the next hallway, Dorian and Jaime still talking, except now through telepathy.

_**Hallway #9, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 2:25 AM**_

In hallway #9, Artie and Kurt were on the brink of implosion; the images that moved their minds had been moving faster and faster recently, causing their minds to start to burn; literally. Remy's group entered the hallway and, upon hearing their screams of pain all of them winced, remembering what it'd felt like. Logan sniffed the air and cursed.

"Damn it! Their minds are overloading; we've gotta free 'em fast!" Without thinking about how he could smell burning minds (something that would later cause him to ask Professor Xavier for help), he ran over to Kurt's door and, despite the pain he felt from the electricity, managed to get the bars open. Logan entered and shook his head to clear his mind of the pain from the electricity that had attacked him after he touched the bars.

"Popsicle, Porcupine; get in here!" Logan yelled, kneeling down in front of Kurt, who was screaming and cursing in German at the images in his mind.

"Calm down, Elf; I'm not going to hurt you," Logan murmured, trying to get Kurt to hear him. However, Kurt didn't respond. Logan tried again and on getting no response, growled, trying to think of a method he could use. Then, it came to him.

"Elf, listen to me; you have to be strong and stay still so we can free you so we can go and rescue Amanda. Remember I told you that her mother had called and asked where she was because she didn't come home the night before we were captured? I think she's here, Elf; you have to be strong for her."

This time Kurt stopped thrashing and listened to Logan, who grinned on seeing Kurt stop moving. He motioned to Bobby and Evan, who had been waiting for the okay to come in. Evan moved behind Kurt, and, making sure he had a firm grip on him to keep the blue elf from moving, exposed the collar to Bobby. Bobby, armoring up, shot a stream of ice at the collar and Evan watched as it froze solid, causing Kurt to stop cursing, which he had started to do again once Evan had held him still. Bobby nodded to Logan, who, releasing one claw, carefully slipped it underneath the collar and neatly cut it off of Kurt. Logan then threw the collar in the air and Evan launched a flame-tipped spike at it and relished in hearing it explode in mid-air.

"Mein Gott…" Kurt muttered as he put a hand to his hand to try to stop the headache that was threatening to take over. He opened his yellow eyes and saw Logan and Bobby in front of him. "Logan, Bobby? You're all right… vait, vhere's Amanda?!" Kurt exclaimed as he realized that he didn't see his girlfriend.

"Calm down, Kurt; we haven't found her yet but we're going to. Don't worry," Evan said as he offered a hand to Kurt to help him to his feet. Kurt was shocked to see Evan in front of him, but took the proffered hand and got to his feet, clutching his head when he began to feel dizzy.

"Cajun! Get your ass in here!" Logan demanded and Remy stepped into the cell and smirked when he saw the adopted brother of his girlfriend. "Heal the Elf!" Logan ordered as he stepped out of the cell and went over to where the others were trying to free Artie.

"Gambit? Vhat are you doing here?" Kurt demanded, not believing his eyes.

"Remy's here to help, Kurt," Remy replied, removing a glove and moving towards the transporter, who backed away. "Don' worry, Kurt; Remy's just going ta heal tu; bon?"

Kurt continued to back away and replied, "No, it's not good. You can't heal me, Gambit!"

Remy nodded that he could and when Evan nodded at him that he'd tell Kurt, Remy stepped back and watched as the spiked mutant talked to the transporter. Finally, Kurt stepped forward and, hesitatingly holding out a hand said, "Vell, I guess that I could give you a chance, Gambit. I trust you." Remy, smirking, took Kurt's hand and shook it, watching as Kurt grinned on feeling his energy come back to him. Once Remy had finished he motioned with his head for Kurt to follow him out of the cell. When Kurt did he saw Callisto, Façade, Dorian, and Evan talking adamantly with a mutant whom Kurt remembered reading about. Artie was his name and poison was his game.

Remy walked over to Artie and, kneeling, asked, "Callisto, could tu ask Artie if he is okay avec moi healing him?" Callisto nodded and after speaking with Artie nodded yes. Remy carefully touched Artie's face and transferred his energy, making sure to keep a small shield around his hand so the poison didn't touch him. Once he'd finished Artie, grinning, hugged Remy around the waist (as Remy was still kneeling), being careful to not let any exposed skin touch Remy. He then backed up and signaled to Remy that he was grateful for Remy's help. Dorian translated and Remy grinned at Artie once again.

Remy stood up and this time he let Evan explain what was going on, and then the group moved on to the next hallway.


	57. Remy’s Chronicles: Rescues, Part 4

**Disclaimer: **Well, I decided to take some classes on hacking (yes, they do have those) to learn some new tricks; I'll let you know how they go…

_**A/N: **_Well, it hasn't been six months, at least. I'm impressed with myself. I hope you guys (those who are still with me) enjoy this chapter. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all! I really appreciate everyone who has stuck with me, so I dedicate this chapter to each and every one of you. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 56: Remy's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 4**

**_Hallway #10, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 2:35 AM_**

Remy's group, now numbering fourteen strong, next found hallway #10, which when they got inside they found to contain Sam and Tabitha, both of whom were screaming themselves hoarse. However, when Logan went to remove the door to Tabitha's cell he saw a glint of red on the bars. On examining it more closely, he saw that it was red adamantium.

"Hell," Logan muttered and explained the problem. Although he had adamantium claws that could cut through anything and anyone that came in their way, he and Hank had been doing research on his claws. Hank had found that there was a kind of adamantium stronger than his claws, and that was red adamantium.

"Apocalypse sure picked a nice defense system for Boomer's cell," Logan commented, pointing a finger at Tabitha.

Kurt walked up to the cell and after examining it said, "I think that I can teleport inside, taking people vith me and ve can free Tabitha from inside the cell. Then, I'll teleport back out with Tabby and the others." Remy nodded yes and, grinning, Kurt took Bobby, Evan, and Logan inside Tabby's cell with him, leaving behind a cloud of brimstone smoke. Working quickly, the three managed to free Tabby and bring her back out.

"Where's Sam?" Tabitha asked as she opened her blue eyes and looked around. When she saw Remy in front of her she smirked, "Gambit, nice to see ya; too bad I look like shit though."

Remy chuckled and replied, "C'est bon to see tu again aussi, petite. C'est bon si (Is it okay if) Remy heals tu?" Remy removed a glove and moved until he was in front of Tabby. She looked up at him, seriously thinking about whether or not she was walking into a trap, but on seeing Logan behind Remy nodding yes she shrugged and smiled at Remy, which he took as a yes. Remy healed her, and then went on to see Sam, whom Kurt, Hank, and Amara had just retrieved.

"Tabby," Sam murmured as he opened his eyes and on seeing Remy demanded, "What'd you do with Tabitha, Gambit?!" Sam was too busy to notice that Tabby had heard him and was quickly making her way towards her boyfriend, grinning widely.

"Sam! Thank God you're alright!" Tabby yelled as she pushed past Remy and threw her arms around Sam, who, startled that Tabby was in his arms, took a minute to return the hug, but when he did let a relieved sigh escape him.

"Tabby, I thought that you were," began Sam but Tabby put a finger to his lips, stopping more words from escaping his mouth.

"I know." Tabby murmured feeling love and relief for her boyfriend well up inside her. She then stood up on her toes and pressed a kiss to Sam's mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck. Sam returned it with fervor and both took no notice of Bobby and Jubilee, who were whistling, or of Logan, who was watching them suspiciously.

When they broke they grinned at each other and Tabby turned to Remy, who had been watching the scene with interest. "Hey, Gambit; think you can heal Sam?"

Nodding, Remy moved to put a hand on Sam's face and Sam, after getting a reassuring nod from his girlfriend let Remy heal him, relishing in the feel of his energy returning to him. Remy, on finishing, put back on his glove and stepped aside to let Evan tell Sam and Tabitha what was going on and that Apocalypse was back.

"Are you serious?!" Tabby questioned with an unbelieving tone in her voice. When Evan nodded yes she continued, "Then I guess we'll just have to kick his ass back to where he came from, right?" On getting a chorus of agreement, she grinned, and as she and Sam joined the group, Remy phased them all out of hallway #10 and set out for the next hallway.

_**Hallway #15, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 2:45 AM**_

On arriving in hallway #15, Remy started on seeing Leon in a cell, screaming his lungs out. "Damn, Remy didn't know dat Apocalypse imprisoned the Brotherhood aussi," he muttered, quickly making his way over to Leon's cell. Motioning Kurt and Tabitha over he explained to Tabby what she had to do once inside with the collar, and when Tabby agreed without hesitation Kurt teleported them inside Leon's cell.

Once inside, Remy used Betsy's telekinesis to hold Leon still and Tabby, seeing the small keyhole in the collar, created a miniature bomb. She placed it inside the keyhole and, one small pop later the collar came off, now in two pieces due to the force of its landing.

Leon slowly opened his eyes and on seeing Remy said, "Remy, thank God you're here! Magneto imprisoned Todd, Fred, Opal, and myself because we were attacking some invisible force and he thought we were goofing off… wait a minute, what're you doing here?"

Remy grinned, knowing that the "invisible force" had most likely been Lance and Kitty replied, "Well, Leon, Remy's here to rescue tu and all the other mutants so date we can take down Apocalypse, who's been controlling Magneto from the start of his new plan, somethin' dat Remy can't ignore. Remy wants to know si tu will let Remy heal you and si tu are with us when we go up against Apocalypse?" Remy took off his glove in preparation for Leon's answer.

Leon gave Remy what seemed an incredulous look, having heard from Todd about the battle he had fought with Apocalypse years ago and knowing that he had a chance to make history by helping to defeat the mutant once more. "Remy, of course I'll help. Come on, think: I wouldn't be the master poker player that I am if I didn't take risks, right?" Remy laughed at hearing this, knowing that Leon liked to call himself a master poker player, if only because he had been beating Remy at the game lately because Remy had been distracted… that Rogue femme was just too irresistible.

"Right, homme," Remy said and, after healing Leon had Kurt teleport them out of the cell. Once outside they were met by Jubilee and Amara, who were holding up Lynn, whose skin was very pale.

"Lynn!" Tabby exclaimed, crossing the hallway to kneel in front of her friend, cursing the fact that all of the X-Sword team had to deal with this mess as well as the older mutants. Lynn stirred on hearing Tabby's voice and opened her cerulean-blue eyes, which widened on seeing her friend.

"Tabitha! Man, am Ay glad ta see ye!" Lynn exclaimed, trying to move to give Tabitha a hug but as soon as she tried to stand on her own collapsed from exhaustion. Leon, who had been entranced by Lynn's eyes the moment he saw them, dove and managed to keep her from hitting the floor, earning him a grateful look from Lynn.

"Remy, can you heal her?" Leon asked his friend, who, grinning over what Leon had done nodded and moved to heal her. Lynn saw him coming and tried to move away but Leon didn't let her move.

"Listen," he said softly, Lynn turning surprised eyes to him, "Remy's my friend; he'd never hurt you; all he's going to do is heal you so we can fight Apocalypse and rescue the others; all right?"

Lynn looked into Leon's own blue eyes and on realizing that she could trust what he said allowed Remy to heal her. Once Remy had finished, he got to his feet and moved away to go and stand beside Artie, Dorian, and Jaime, who were talking telepathically while watching the entrance to the door.

Lynn got to her feet and, looking at Leon whispered, "Thanks… um, what's your name?" Leon, looking sheepish, told her his name. Lynn looked at him again and said, "Thanks Leon. My name's Lynn." Lynn stuck out her hand for Leon to shake (which he did eagerly; a little too eagerly for Logan's tastes) and from then on the two became friends; or as close to friends as an X-Men member and Brotherhood member could get under Logan's gaze.

Hank then stepped up to the plate and, after explaining what was going on, Remy and his group, now eighteen people strong, left for their next destination.

_**Hallway #12, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 2:59 AM**_

Upon reaching hallway #12, Remy's group was starting to get a little antsy. Callisto and Façade were concerned with finding more Morlock members and making sure that they were okay. Evan, Forge, and Logan (although the latter would never verbally admit it) were concerned with finding Ororo and making sure that she was safe. Amara was hoping to find Ray; Bobby and Jubilee the rest of their team; Leon wanted to find Todd; Lynn wanted to find the rest of her team; and everyone else was hoping to find everyone else safe and willing to help fight Apocalypse.

Once inside the hallway, Lynn saw Rex in his cell, screaming in pain and ran over, preparing to grab the bars and try to rip them off their hinges. However, Bobby stopped her in her tracks when he created an ice shield, effectively stopping her from reaching the bars.

"Slow down, Lynn. The bars are crackling with electricity and if you touch them then you're going to get electrocuted," he advised, moving to stand in front of Lynn.

Lynn huffed and crossed her arms, not taking kindly to being told what to do. Don't get her wrong, Lynn is very good at following orders; orders from Rex and Tyne, that is. She has trouble following any orders from Bobby, if only because she thinks her ice powers are superior to his, and therefore he should be taking orders from her, and not vice-versa.

Amara, on seeing the tension, stepped up to Lynn and giving a look that told Bobby to go and help free the other prisoner she told Lynn, "Lynn, Bobby's right. Logan ripped off the bars to Kurt's cell a little while ago and he was almost electrocuted; he only survived because of his healing factor. Plus, you are my apprentice in the American fashion world; I need you, wouldn't you say?" Amara winked at Lynn, earning a grin from the ice-breathing mutant. Lynn nodded in agreement and, watching Amara dissolve Bobby's wall pulled down her goggles and launched a breath of ice from her mouth at the bars, hoping to freeze them solid.

Once the bars were frozen, Lynn rammed them with her shoulder, causing them to break apart and ran into the cell, Amara following. Lynn knelt in front of Rex and, gripping his shoulders, forced him to stay still so Amara could concentrate on taking off the collar. Amara, flaring up, sent a small stream of intensely hot lava at Rex's collar, being careful not to burn him, and managed to burn the collar off, watching as it fell to the floor of the cell in a melted metal mess with satisfaction.

Rex opened his eyes and, on seeing Lynn said, "Lynn… glad to see you." He then groaned and placed a hand on his forehead to try to stop the headache he knew was coming from taking over completely. He let Amara and Lynn help him to his feet, knowing that he was too weak to stand on his own. As he hobbled out of the cage, he saw a man with metal wings leaning against the side of the cell opposite his own, yelling at Logan and Hank.

"I will not let that thief touch me!" Warren exclaimed, not liking the fact that he had no clue where his girlfriend Betsy was and that Logan and Hank, two of his most trustworthy friends, were trying to get him to agree to let Gambit heal him.

"Warren, the Cajun's with us," Logan said, his patience already wearing thin as he thought about how much Ororo was suffering and feeling guilty that he had no clue where she was.

Warren regarded Logan with his eyes, now a dark blue instead of their usual bright hue, and said, "Logan, how in the hell can you trust this thief when he attacks the Institute on a monthly basis and almost killed you in numerous battles?!" Warren then shifted his glare to Hank and continued, "And Hank, listen: I know you trust a lot of people but think: Gambit's no good; come on, he nearly took off your hand one time in battle. If it wasn't for me, you'd be missing your right hand!"

Hank looked at Warren and replied, "You have a point, old friend. But remember that although bad blood exists in the past our job as X-Men is to create a peaceful future, even if that means that you have to swallow your pride and accept Remy as being on our side; understand?" Hank's eyes stared into Warren's and he could see that Warren was battling with himself over the issue that Hank had presented.

Warren sighed and after running a hand through his hair said, "You are, of course, correct, Hank. I guess I have been holding onto my pride for too long. It's just that I'm worried about Betsy. I haven't seen her since we were captured by Mystique days ago." Warren then stuck out his hand towards Remy, who had been watching the action and continued, "I'm sorry Gambit. Hank's right; I should be looking to the future and not to the past. Welcome."

Remy, grinning, said, "Merci, homme. Now, just let moi heal vous and we'll be on our way." He then took Warren's hand and transferred energy to Warren, who closed his eyes and felt at peace as his injuries and scars healed. Once Remy finished he turned and saw Rex, who told Remy that he needed to be healed as well. Remy granted Rex's request and, on finishing, put back on his glove, turning to face Warren. Warren was flexing his metal wings relieved that he could stretch them once more instead of not being able to move them at all.

Remy then explained what was going on and when Warren heard Apocalypse's name exclaimed, "Are you sure he's back, Gambit?"

Remy nodded solemnly and replied, "Remy sure, homme. Remy saw him avec his own eyes." He had recreated Rex's drawing tablet and pencils and given them to Rex, who had instantly began drawing plans he was going to use against Apocalypse.

Warren sighed and said, "All right… I guess all that we can do is fight and beat him again, like we did last time, right?" On getting a chorus of agreements, Warren grinned himself and Remy moved the group onto the next hallway.

_**Hallway #11, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 3:10 AM**_

On reaching the next hallway, it took Remy a little longer than usual to disengage the entrance to the hallway but once inside Logan instantly stiffened.

"Lex's in here," Logan said, rushing forward past the other cell and to where Lexie was, worried to death about his daughter. Hank and Warren followed him, Kurt bringing up the end. As Amara ran towards Lexie's cell, she looked into the other one and felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Ray," she whispered, not believing her eyes. In front of her was Ray, who was screaming in pain from the mental torture he was forced to endure. Amara stood there, frozen, and it wasn't until Tabby and Jubilee threw their arms around her shoulders that she moved.

"Well, if it ain't Ray," Tabby said innocently, looking at her nails. "You know, 'Mara, you should go and rescue him; we'll keep watch to make sure no one enters and interrupts your private time with him."

Amara flushed scarlet and opened her mouth to reply but Jubilee chimed in by saying, "Tabby's right, 'Mara. You should be the first person that Ray sees when he opens his eyes. After all, he's only had a crush on you for years, but you ignored him and went after a guy, whom we warned you was bad news. Look what happened: the guy almost raped you and yet Ray, who was dating Tabby at the time, followed you on that date and saved your ass when you were unconscious. He risked his life for you, and you never thanked him; now's your chance." With these words, Jubilee shot streams of fireworks at the door of Ray's cell, and in a few minutes, the door broke down. Once the bars were down, Amara still didn't move, too terrified of going in and admitting to Ray that she liked him as more than a friend. However, she didn't have a choice as Jubilee pushed her in, and made sure that she was in front of Ray, while Tabitha went to take off Ray's collar.

Once the collar came off, Tabby stomped it to bits and watched as Ray's light blue eyes slowly opened and focused on Amara. Tabby and Jubilee then crept out of the cell to go and help Logan and his crew rescue Lexie.

"Amara?" Ray asked, slowly getting to his feet. He wanted to make sure that he was really seeing Amara; he wanted to make sure that she wasn't an illusion. On getting no reaction from Amara, he tried again. "Amara, is that you?" he questioned, trying to lift a hand to touch her face; to prove to himself that she wasn't a figment of her imagination. So imagine his shock when Amara suddenly launched herself forward and threw her arms around Ray, making sure not to throw him completely off balance.

"Ray, I'm so glad to see that you're okay," Amara whispered, having finally gotten her senses back after seeing Ray lift a hand in preparation to touch her face. "I was so afraid that I'd lost you…"

Ray just stayed still, not believing what he had just heard. Then, slowly, he brought his arms around Amara, returning the hug and replied, "Me too 'Mara; me too."

They stayed this way for a few minutes, each reveling in the others' company and apparent safety. They broke apart when they heard someone clearing their throat. Both looked up into the grinning face of Tabby.

"Well, glad you two hugged and made up," she quipped, earning her a glare from Amara. Tabby ignored the look and continued, "Amara, help Ray out here, will ya? We need to help Logan rescue Lexie; seems Kurt can't teleport in and the door's made of red adamantium and charged with a high voltage of electricity."

With these words, Tabby turned on her heel and made her way over to Lexie's cell, where Hank and Warren were desperately trying to contain an angered Logan from trying to slice his way through the wall and create a tunnel into Lexie's cell. Amara let Ray lean on her for support but before they left the cell, Ray stopped and turned to face Amara.

"Amara, I know that I've been a jerk in the past, but I just want to say that I," Ray began to apologize when Amara stopped him by putting a finger to his mouth, startling him.

"I know. I just want you to know that you saved my life when that loser who I chased after all those years almost raped me and I wanted to say… well, thanks. I also want to say that I feel the same way," Amara said and then to the surprise of both herself and Ray leaned up and kissing him soundly on the mouth. Ray responded, stroking Amara's hair for a minute until they had to part due to lack of air.

"Does this mean we're together?" Ray asked Amara, a crooked smile on his face. Amara nodded yes and Ray gave her another kiss and hugged her. "Now that that's settled let's go and help free Lexie." Amara nodded and they left the cell nonchalantly, trying to act as if nothing had happened, but their fellow X-Factor members knew better and shot grins at each other.

"Let me go! I have to rescue Lex!" Logan roared, trying to break free but was unable to, not when Hank, Warren, and now Bobby, Rex, Leon, and Evan were holding him back. On seeing Amara and Ray making their way over, he snarled, "Crisp! Can you absorb that electricity?"

Ray looked up at Logan and nodded yes. He slowly moved away from Amara so that he was in front of the bars and, sticking out both hands concentrated, closing his eyes. To the amazement of all watching, the electricity on the door crackled, and, slowly but surely moved off the bars and into Ray's outstretched hands. Ray began to glow pale blue as all the electricity flowed into him, seemingly healing all of his injuries and restoring the energy that had been lost. When he opened his eyes, he realized with a start that the bars had completely disintegrated, leaving a gaping hole where they had once been Logan broke free and ran inside the cell, quickly slicing off Lexie's collar and bringing her out of the cell bridal-style.

Ray looked at his hands, which were still glowing pale blue, and knew that he had evolved beyond his previous level, as he had never been able to absorb the amount of electricity he had just absorbed before. Logan, meanwhile, was anxiously watching Lexie, waiting for her to wake up. Lexie moaned and opened her eyes to see the worried black ones of her father.

"Dad?" Lexie croaked glad to see her father but not letting on that much. Logan nodded and sighed with relief as she smiled at him. However, as Logan helped Lexie to her feet she sniffed the air and said, "Where's Pietro?"

Logan started, as did Remy, who slapped a hand to his forehead, having known about Pietro and Lexie for a few months. Logan glared at his daughter and growled, "What do ya mean, Lex? What does Maximoff have to do with anything?"

Lexie sighed, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth to say something when Remy interrupted, saying, "Later, monsieur Logan. We still have more cells to empty 'fore meetin' up avec Rogue et her group; bon?"

Logan glared at Lexie and, without looking at Remy said, "Fine… we'll talk later kid." Remy then explained the ritual of hall traveling for Ray and Lexie and they all left for the next hallway, catching a grateful look from Lexie as he left the hallway.


	58. Remy’s Chronicles: Rescues, Part 5

**Disclaimer: **Well, I decided to take some classes on hacking (yes, they do have those) to learn some new tricks; I'll let you know how they go…

_**A/N: **_As an early Christmas gift, I'm going to give you guys an extra chapter to enjoy. Merry Christmas! I hope that this helps you guys to begin to reconcile my long updates, and how long this story's been going on. I really appreciate everyone who has stuck with me, so I dedicate this chapter to each and every one of you. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 57: Remy's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 5**

**_Hallway #3, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 3:25 AM_**

Remy and his group soon reached hallway #3, where they found a suffering Danielle and Scott, who was weeping bitterly in his cell for Jean. Remy assigned positions to all those with him, placing most of them on guard duty while he, Kurt, Amara, Bobby, Tabby, Logan, and Lexie moved to rescue the cells' occupants.

Amara, Bobby, and Lexie went to Danielle's cell, where she was screaming her lungs out, the sound piercing Lexie's eardrums.

"Damn, she's loud when she screams," Lexie commented, rubbing her ears to try to get the ringing to stop.

Amara looked over to her friend and replied, "Oh yeah, and she's supposed to be meek and quiet when she's getting tortured thanks to mental images, right?" Lexie scowled at the use of sarcasm, but shrugged, knowing Amara was right. Bobby hadn't been paying attention to the conversation, as he had been busy freezing the door solid, so that they go and rescue Danielle.

"Done." Bobby powered back down to his normal form after icing the bars. Amara and Lexie looked up from their arguments and Lexie rammed her shoulder against the bars, pleased when they gave way under her weight. The three mutants then entered the cell and while Bobby and Lexie held Danielle still – with Lexie making sure that Danielle's hair was out of the way – Amara flared up and shot a lava stream at the collar, taking care to aim at just the right spot. When the collar had come loose Amara shifted back to her human state and carefully took it off Danielle's neck, throwing it against the wall so that it shattered into a million pieces.

Danielle moaned and opened her black eyes to the welcome sight of Bobby, Lexie, and Amara. "Guys… it is so good to see you," Dani muttered, taking care to keep her voice low to save her energy. With Lexie and Amara's help, Dani got to her feet and they brought her out of her cell, Dani learning from Bobby what was going on.

As the group of four mutants exited the cell, Dani looked up and her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Evan, who was leaning against a wall, fingering a small spike. Although they had never talked, as Dani often acted the part of a wallflower, she had gradually realized that she had fallen in love with the spiked mutant, especially with his rough-and-tough personality and determination. Amara noticed Dani trail off and looking to where she was staring an evil smile crept onto her face.

"So Dani; any crushes lately?" Amara innocently asked, catching Lexie's attention. Lexie sniffed the air and on smelling attraction towards Evan from Dani grinned as well.

Dani started at the question and replied, "Of course not, 'Mara. I have much more important stuff to deal with right now, including defeating Apocalypse." She looked away and so didn't notice that Evan had noticed her and was outright staring.

"So Evan, got a crush on Dani?" Ray asked, coming up to sling an arm around Evan's shoulder. Evan roughly pushed Ray's arm off and wheeled on him, a cold expression on his face.

"No way, man! Why would I like a wallflower like her?" Evan hissed to Ray, who noticed that his voice dropped a few pitches on the word "wallflower"; as if he didn't mean what he had just said. Internally, Evan was asking himself when Dani had become so… well, hot?

Ray shrugged and replied, "Hey man, I'm only saying what I'm seeing; just treat her well." Ray then left a now confused Evan to go and help bring Scott out of his cell. Scott was currently unconscious and Kurt and Tabby were struggling under Scott's body. Ray ran over and helped them up, where they brought him over to Remy, who quickly healed him.

Scott opened his eyes and on seeing Gambit struggled to get to his visor to shoot the trespasser. However, on realizing that he was being held in the air he demanded, "Guys, put me down! I need to kill Gambit!" His demand went undone, as his carriers continued to carry him over to where Hank was, so that the Institute's main doctor could tell Scott what was going on... and avert an unnecessary death.

"Remy, can you heal Dani?" Lexie asked, and on receiving a yes told Dani that Remy was going to come and heal her since her energy was far too low for her to heal herself. Once Remy had healed Dani he allowed Logan to explain to Scott and Dani the rules in the hallway and then led his team, now numbering twenty-one strong, to the next hallway. Remy didn't notice the nasty looks that Scott was directing at him, utterly embarrassed that he had had to be rescued by the enemy.

_**Hallway #14, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 3:33 AM**_

On arriving in hallway #14, Scott instantly recognized his brother's screams of pain and ran over to his cell, intent on rescuing Alex himself. However, he didn't take notice of the electricity that was surging on the bars, and when he touched them yelled as he was electrocuted. Once the smoke had cleared a severely electrocuted Scott stood, facing the other twenty mutants in front of him, all of whom trying to not laugh at Scott's new style.

"Ha ha. You knew that'd happen, didn't you?" Scott muttered, flicking soot that now covered him from his uniform and visor eye, trying to keep up his reputation of being in pristine condition. On getting a snort as his answer from Logan, Scott sighed and said, "Fine, I give up. You guys are obviously the experts on rescuing people when compared with my apparent lack of skills; go on." Scott grudgingly moved aside, watching with envious eyes as Remy told which mutants to go to each cell and rescue their inhabitants. Why couldn't he earn that kind of respect?!

Remy stood ready to heal Alex and Rahne when they came out of their cells while Jubilee, Lexie, and Tabby went to retrieve Rahne and Kurt, Bobby, and Ray went to rescue Alex.

Once Kurt had teleported Bobby and Ray inside the cell Bobby knelt in front of Alex and held him by the shoulders, hissing in his ear to stay still while holding his hair away from Alex's collar. This gave Ray a clear shot. Ray, aiming carefully, shot a thin stream of electricity at the collar, taking care to control the path of the electricity so he wouldn't accidentally electrocute Alex. The collar crashed to the ground, small sparks flying off the jagged edges of the keyhole. Alex began to moan in pain as soon as the collar came off, and Kurt grabbed the three of them and teleported them outside to where Remy was waiting, healing powers ready.

After Remy healed Alex, he moved over to Rahne's cell, counting off in his mind which hallways were left for him to do. 'We only have trois hallways left; den Remy can see his chére again…'

Meanwhile, Alex had opened his eyes and on seeing his friends said, "Wow guys, what speedboat hit me and ran off?" On getting a few chuckles at his joke, Alex grinned and slapped high-fives with his teammates, glad to see that they were okay. However, on counting all of X-Factor that was in front of him he realized that some members were still missing, including Lorna.

"Where's Lorna?" Alex asked worriedly, concerned over his girlfriend's safety. On getting looks that said 'We don't know' Alex cursed and, powering up sent a shot of energy at the wall, causing Hank and Callisto to dodge it, Callisto shooting a nasty look at the younger Summers' brother.

Scott, having seen Alex's anger walked over to his brother and, placing a hand on his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, bro; we'll find Lorna, I promise." Alex gave him a quick hug in thanks then went over to Bobby and Ray to make plans on finding Lorna.

Rahne, meanwhile, opened her eyes to the concerned faces of Jubilee, Lexie, and Tabby and giving a shout of joy jumped into a group-hug, surprising them with the amount of energy she was exhibiting. After the hug broke up, Rahne sniffed the air around her and, frowning, asked, "Where's 'Berto?"

The three women looked at each other then at Rahne, with Lexie saying, "Sorry Rahne, but we haven't found him yet." Rahne let out a mournful sigh and a short howl of sorrow at the fact that her boyfriend hadn't been found yet; funny, she somehow knew Roberto was close-by, but something was off. She could sense that something wasn't right with him…

The four women walked out of the cell and into the hallway where the other X-Factor members greeted Rahne with enthusiasm and excitement. Remy watched her, amazed that she had so much energy after having been held captive and thought, 'Oui, she's one of 'em…'

Hank once more explained what was going on and the group left the hall to go and find the next hallway on Remy's list, Rahne desperately hoping that she would find Roberto soon.

_**Hallway #5, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 3:49 AM**_

When the group entered hallway #5, Scott felt through his telepathic link with Jean her presence in the hallway. He took off running for her cell, ignoring the other cell's occupant and this time, using logic unleashed a large beam of concentrated energy at the bars, disintegrating them quickly. Scott ran in and, using a narrow beam of energy, fried the collar around her neck, which released his wife from her captivity. Scott carried her out of the cell bridal-style and reluctantly said, "Gambit, I need you to heal my wife."

Remy, chuckling inside at how insincere Scott sounded with his request, went to where Scott was and, using his energy healed Jean. He then ran over to where he heard arguments occurring, fearing for the worse. However, what he saw caused him to grimace and slap a hand on his forehead.

"Forge, you're not doing this right; it's all wrong!" Hank yelled, trying to keep Forge from fiddling with the hinges of the non-threatening door by moving to take over Forge's work area. Forge was doing his best to ignore Hank but soon exploded, calling Hank a boatload of names, some that Hank didn't recognize. This was, of course, the doorway to the main hallway, which had remained sealed even though Remy had supposedly fried the hinges when he had phased the group of mutants through it.

Remy thought to himself as he watched the two adults argue, 'Both Hank et Forge must be trying to prove dat he isn't useless… Mon Dieu, what are they doin' now?'

While Remy ran over to the arguing adults to try to settle them down – especially Forge – Logan had run over to the other cell but when he saw the cell's occupant he froze.

"'Ro?" Logan croaked, sounding nothing like his usual gruff self; in fact, fear laced Logan's voice, bringing it to the point of cracking. For in front of him lay Ororo, unmoving on the ground, her white hair dull and limp, shallowly breathing.

"Elf! Popsicle!" Logan roared, catching the attention of all the mutants, who had been watching Forge and Hank fight with interest, most having never seen Hank yell curse words at anyone previously. Kurt and Bobby ran over to Logan and on seeing who was in the cell both paled considerably.

"We need to rescue her; now!" Logan said, and then thinking again yelled, "Cajun! Get your ass over here!" Remy came running over from where he had been trying to restrain Forge from attacking Hank, leaving Evan and Ray to try and hold the inventor and doctor back from attacking each other. On reaching the cell, Remy understood the situation immediately and hit himself in the head, cursing his forgetfulness of rescuing the other occupant of the hallway.

"Oui, go et rescue her, Monsieur Logan; Remy will be waiting ici," Remy commanded, taking off both his gloves in preparation. Logan nodded and with Kurt grabbing both him and Bobby teleported inside the cell.

Logan instantly ran over to Ororo and, gently picking her up, whispered, "Come on 'Ro… don't do this to me. We all need you at the Institute; you're our heart, you inspire us all to do our best. We need you; I need you…" Logan then placed a kiss on Ororo's forehead, a move that didn't go unnoticed by Bobby and Kurt. The two shared a look, silently agreeing not to tell anyone about the kiss… yet. Logan then gently moved Ororo's hair away from her neck, allowing Bobby a clear shot at the collar, which he immediately took, taking careful aim to make sure that he didn't hit Ororo.

Once the collar was frozen, Kurt gently removed it and sent it flying into the back of the cell. He then took hold of Bobby and Logan, the latter still holding Ororo in his arms, and teleported them outside of the cell, where Remy was waiting. When the quartet had materialized, both Forge and Hank ran over, both having given up the task of opening the door when Callisto had threatened them with castration if they didn't stop.

On seeing an unconscious Ororo in Logan's arms Forge ran over and gently ran a hand along Ororo's face, doing his best to not curse out Logan for Ororo's condition, whom he knew was at no fault for Ororo's condition (but hey, he needed a scapegoat) and was significantly stronger than him. Hank had moved to Logan's left and, picking up her wrist, listened for a pulse.

"Logan, was Ororo like this when you rescued her?" Hank solemnly asked, his eyes meeting Logan's. Logan nodded, keeping what he was feeling guarded behind a secure gate. Hank sighed and continued, "She's near death… what she saw in her head must have overloaded her neural systems to the point that she must have gone unconscious; she's going to need a rather large surge of energy to come back to us…"

"You mean like what we did for Jean on the moon a few years ago when she was possessed by the Phoenix?" Scott asked, his wife Jean right behind him, not looking pleased that the enemy had rescued her. In fact, she looked like she would have rather died than been saved from plausible death by Gambit.

Hank looked at Scott and nodded. Remy suddenly spoke up, saying, "Monsieur Beast, if Remy is understandin' tu correctly, Storm needs all of our energy to become healthy; oui?" On getting another nod from Hank, Remy continued, "Bon, not a problem; dis may sound corny but tous le monde (everyone) join hands et form a circle dat connects vous avec moi, Monsieur Logan and Mademoiselle Storm." The younger mutants looked at each other and without a word did as Remy commanded, with X-Factor first, with Leon, Rex, and Lynn on his (Remy's) right. Hank joined in without hesitation, his gut telling him that this maneuver was going to save Ororo's life. Forge, with some hesitation and suppression of the urge to grab Ororo and force Logan into standing in the circle (far away from Storm in the line) joined as well with Warren and Kurt following him. Evan looked at Callisto, Artie, Dorian, and Façade, telling them with his eyes that he had to do this and verbally reminding them that she was his aunt and had offered them help numerous times, going so far as to come into the sewers with gifts for the younger Morlocks at Christmas. Callisto nodded and took Kurt's hand, determination steeled. She then motioned with her head to her fellow Morlocks that they had to do this and, grinning Evan joined her, followed by Dorian, Artie, and a reluctant Façade, who still didn't trust Ororo.

Finally, the only mutants left to join were Scott and Jean, the latter looking like she wanted to spit venom. Scott looked at the mutants waiting and then to Ororo, who still lay limp in Logan's arms, her white hair falling over her shoulder haphazardly, her usually bright mocha skin a dull brown. He nodded and moved towards the line, taking Façade's hand, and motioned with his head that Jean join them. Jean refused, proclaiming her intent not to obey Remy's command.

They stood at a standstill for a moment, the rest of the mutants (Scott included) glaring at Jean to enter until finally Logan, growling, gently handed Ororo to Remy, who made sure to support the woman's head while he stalked towards Jean, a venomous look in his eyes.

"Jean, you may not be a student anymore, but you had better listen to me and get your ass in gear! Ororo did everything in her power to help you in your studies at college, goin' so far as to write you all those damn recommendation letters without you askin' her! She's the heart of our school, your fellow colleague, and one of your best friends! And how the hell do you repay her?! You refuse to listen to Cajun's idea, which might be Ororo's only chance of surviving because you're jealous that you didn't think of this and that you were saved by Gambit. Well get this through your head! The Cajun's with us; if Stripes can trust him, if all of these mutants whom he rescued entrusted their lives to him can trust him, and if I can trust him then you had better start trustin' him Jeannie! If you end up bein' the reason that 'Ro doesn't pull through so help me you will regret your actions for the rest of your damn life!" Logan screamed, his words punctuated by anger and his eyes, which proclaimed how much he knew these words to be true. Jean was cowering in fear by the time that Logan had finished, and meekly nodded, getting a snort from Logan. Jean quickly moved into place beside her husband, not looking at anyone as she did so, too ashamed for her actions.

Logan then moved back to Remy and once more took Ororo's body into his arms, nodding to Remy to start the process. All those who had witnessed his rant were looking at each other in amazement, and in the younger students, gears were turning. Callisto and the Morlocks were looking at Ororo with a new respect; if someone as vicious as the Wolverine would defend her so voraciously then she was worthy of all the respect that Evan had for her. Evan was looking smug. He knew Logan cared about his aunt; had known it for a decade but didn't understand why they had never gotten together, especially since he knew that she felt the same way for Logan that he felt for her.

Remy grinned; he knew that Logan had done what had needed done even if it meant admitting in so few words that he cared about Ororo as more than a colleague. "Bon, now all nous do is concentrate on pulling Storm back to us by givin' her a small portion of our own energy."

Remy closed his eyes, as did everyone else, and slowly but surely Ororo's body began to glow with a silver aura. Silver threads of light exited each person and entered her body, restoring her life force. Once the aura had faded, everyone opened their eyes and watched as Ororo, who was still lying in Logan's arms, opened her eyes. The first thing that Ororo's eyes focused on was Logan, his black eyes looking at her with concern flickering in their depths.

"Logan," Ororo breathed, smiling when she saw Logan grin back at her. He then placed Ororo on her feet, not moving away until she was standing on her own two feet. Ororo then surprised everyone by flinging her arms around Logan's neck, smiling when she felt him stiffen. "Thank you Logan… for everything."

Logan stood there, a shocked look on his face, until he regained his senses and hugged her back, ignoring all the catcalls from the watching mutants (especially the younger mutants). After a minute, they broke apart, and Ororo was surprised when a pair of arms encircled her shoulders from behind, hugging her.

"Auntie O!" Evan exclaimed, not caring how the Morlocks saw his actions; he was just happy that his aunt was fine. He let her go, and watched as Ororo turned around and on seeing him, smiled. Evan just grinned back and said, "Glad to see you're okay, Auntie O."

Ororo hugged her nephew in return and, still grinning, replied, "As am I, Evan; as am I." This was the signal for the rest of the mutants to come and greet Ororo, with Jean being an exception, as she watched the scene with narrowed eyes.

Remy then took charge, and, after briefing Jean and Ororo on the situation, solved Forge and Hank's earlier fight by pointing out that the current hallway and the next one were connected by a door that had gone unnoticed the entire time that they had been in the hallway. Forge and Hank quickly apologized to each other, and then the whole group ran towards their next destination, with no one but Remy catching the small peck on the cheek Ororo gave Logan as they brought up the rear of the group.

_**Hallway #16, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 4:00 AM**_

Upon entering the hallway, the mutants knew what had to be done without any verbal command. However, all were shocked when they saw that this hallway had three cells in it instead of the customary two. Remy, sensing the shock that had cloaked the group, said, "We must rescue de inhabitants of these cells; especially if there be trois. Let's move!" This brought the group back to life and with his words, the mutants spilt into their customary groups, with a third added for the third cell. Amara, Jubilee, and Tabby tackled the first cell in the hall, and upon entering, were all shocked to see Kitty a prisoner.

"Why's Kitty here? She wasn't at the DR session!" Amara exclaimed, pausing to wonder why the phaser was there. None of them noticed how she looked as the shadows hid her new form.

"Who cares; we just have to get her out of the cell!" Jubilee commanded, also wondering how Kitty was taken prisoner. Amara nodded, and, flaring up began walking towards Kitty. However, all three women screamed as the light revealed something… unexpected, just as the team sent to rescue the occupant of cell #2 – Bobby, Ray, and Alex – began cursing in horror.

"What happened to her?!" Tabby exclaimed, her eyes taking in the wings and tail that now adorned Kitty's petite frame, accompanied by what appeared to be purple, scaly skin. She looked to Amara and Jubilee, both of whom looked just as lost as her, and, upon hearing the boys, ran to their cell and asked what was wrong.

"What's wrong is that Avalanche looks like a damn gargoyle!" Ray exclaimed, not at all used to seeing a man who, just weeks ago, had looked like a human, and now had a tail, wings, and green, scaly skin. Bobby and Alex nodded in agreement. "Why'd you scream?" Ray asked the girls, who told him that Kitty had wings, a tail, and scaly skin as well.

Remy came up behind them at that moment, and said, "Listen to moi: it doesn't matter what they look like; they are still nos (our) amis et we must rescue them; bon?" The six young adults nodded sheepishly, and upon hearing an extremely high-pitched scream issue from Kitty's cell the women took off while the men turned back to Lance, who was groaning in pain.

With Remy supervising, both groups carefully maneuvered around Kitty and Lance's cells, avoiding their tails, which were thrashing around, and carefully moving their wings, which allowed Tabby and Bobby, respectively, to fry the collars. Once the metal contraptions were off, they brought the mutants out into the light where a collection of curses and gasps met them, the loudest being Lexie's, who with a look from Ororo clapped a hand over her mouth to stop another curse from escaping.

Kitty's eyes opened, and on seeing the faces that met her, loudly sighed, and said, "Just great… this was so how I wanted to tell you guys about my new look." She looked to her left, and, on seeing Lance, gasped and ran over to him, leaving a mystified Amara, Jubilee, and Tabby in her wake. Kitty knelt in front of Lance, and began stroking his face, murmuring words to him in an effort to get him to wake up. Her efforts worked as Lance groaned, and he opened his eyes, only to see his worried girlfriend in front of him.

"Kitty, are you okay?" Lance asked worriedly, carefully extracting himself from Alex, Bobby, and Ray's arms and kneeling in front of Kitty, who had tears falling from her eyes.

Kitty threw herself into Lance's open arms and said, "I was afraid that I'd lost you again, Lance." Lance gently stroked Kitty's hair, reassuring her that he was fine. On hearing Remy clear his throat, he looked up into the Cajun's eyes and, grinning, nudged Kitty to look up. When she did, she grinned, and both let Remy help them up.

"Good to see you encore (again), mes amis," Remy said, a smirk threatening to overtake his face. "Oh, while Remy goes to heal de other cell's prisoner you should probably explain your looks to everyone else." Remy chuckled then took off running to the third cell in the hallway, where Kurt had just teleported out with Evan and Logan, an unconscious Amanda in his arms.

Lance and Kitty looked around them, and saw Ororo come forward to embrace Kitty, seemingly not minding her new look. However, on pulling back, she asked, "By the Goddess, Kitty and Lance, what happened?"

Kitty and Lance looked at each other, and deciding to give a quick answer, Lance said, "Well, Kitty and I were both injured by Sabretooth a few days ago. When he injured us, he injected us with some kind of gargoyle DNA from his claws, which mutated us into what you see now. We have new powers and have control over our original powers. The rest we'll explain later."

Ororo nodded, and hugged Kitty once more. She then moved over to Lance and said, "Young Avalanche; I trust that you have joined the X-Men, by the looks of your uniform?" On getting a sheepish nod from Lance, she continued, "Then I, on behalf of the entire Xavier Institute, welcome you to the X-Men." She then surprised Lance by hugging him, catching him off guard. He looked over to Kitty, who was grinning widely, and responded by hugging her back.

"You have no right to do that, Storm!" Jean exclaimed, pushing her way to the forefront. "You have no right to welcome Avalanche to the X-Men, just as Gambit had no right to heal me without my permission!" She was, by now, in Ororo's face, jabbing her finger into Ororo's chest.

Ororo merely stared at Jean for a moment before coolly replying, "I believe that it is you who is mistaken, Mrs. Summers. I am a senior instructor at the Xavier Institute, and I have already heard from Logan and Scott while you were busy glaring at Remy that the Professor had previously given Lance membership to the X-Men. You are acting like a spoiled five-year old and, if you wish to continue teaching at the Institute, then it would be wise to cease and desist; do you understand?" Jean once again cowered, not used to receiving criticism from Logan or told to shut up by Ororo in the same day.

Ororo then turned to face Lance and said, "I'm sorry that Jean is acting this way, Lance. If the Professor believes that you are ready to join the X-Men, then I too believe that to be true." She then moved over to Scott and after talking to him, he nodded and, moving to where Jean was still cowering, grabbed her by the arm and dragged her off to a corner to talk privately. If he could change his mind about Gambit, then she could too.

Meanwhile, Kurt had found to his delight and horror that Amanda was in the third cell, and had immediately teleported in with Evan and Logan in tow. After rescuing her, Kurt had teleported himself, Evan, and Logan back into the hallway where Remy had been waiting, ready to heal her. Kurt had held Amanda, much like Logan had with Ororo, while she was healed and, after she had been healed, carefully placed her on the ground, so as to not accidentally drop her when she awoke.

A few minutes later, Amanda had opened her eyes and, on seeing Kurt had shrieked in joy and wrapped her arms around Kurt's neck, breathing in his familiar scent, Kurt instantly returning the hug, his tail wrapping itself around Amanda as well, as if to offer extra protection against the demons she had seen in her mind.

Amanda pulled back and said, "Kurt, what's going on? All I know was that I was on my way home from the Institute after showing Tyne and Laura around the mall when I blacked out; then I remember intense pain and waking up to see your blue, fuzzy face."

Kurt, grinning, responded, "Vell, Amanda, let's just say that ve have to team up together – mutant and sorceress – to save the world; okay?" When Amanda nodded Kurt hugged her again, glad to have his girlfriend by his side for what he sensed was going to be a very difficult battle. He then watched, amused as she used her magical powers to create herself a new uniform. It was the basic style of an extra X-Men uniform except that it had goldenrod yellow and had burgundy red stripes along the arms and legs, twisting into the shape of two intersecting arcs in the middle of her uniform, which signaled that her family had magical abilities. She had goldenrod gloves and burgundy boots and, taking a page out of Kurt's uniform guidebook created a belt with the "X" in the middle with the goldenrod and burgundy meeting to form the background.

"Is this an okay uniform?" Amanda asked Kurt as she looked to him for approval, wanting to make sure that her uniform was just right.

Kurt replied, "It's fine, Amanda; in fact, it's better than mine." He gave her a quick peck on the mouth then together they walked over to the others, who were now watching Ororo chew out Jean for her insensitivity.

Lance and Kitty watched Kurt and Amanda approach out of the corner of their eyes and on seeing Amanda's new uniform, Kitty told Lance, _'Guess Amanda wants to be part of the X-Men officially for this final battle.'_

Lance nodded in agreement and replied, _'Can't say I blame her, although I have a question: if we both know that Amanda used her magic to create a new uniform then why are we talking about her when we should be concentrating on watching Ororo chew out Jean?'_ Kitty nodded in agreement and both watched as Scott came and took his wife away. Logan and Evan came up and, after Lance gave the three newcomers the short explanation of their new looks (Logan already knew), Remy told Amanda what to do in the hallways and they then moved out.

_**Hallway #13, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 4:20 AM**_

Upon reaching hallway #13, Remy informed everyone whom he had rescued that this was the last hallway he had to do; Rogue's group was taking care of the rest of them. He heard a collective sigh of relief from those who were still missing team members or significant others. Remy knew how they felt; he personally couldn't wait until he saw Rogue again. He was worried about her.

'Tu est une espece d'idiot (literally: You are a species of idiot),' Remy thought, knowing that Rogue was fine and also knowing that she would make an idiot out of him if she found out that he had been worrying about her the whole time he had been rescuing the others.

Rahne, who was leading her team, sniffed the air for a familiar scent, and, grinning, took off towards the last cell in the hallway, having smelled Roberto. Ray and Amara, both anxious to see Roberto followed her. However, on reaching the cell that Rahne had sensed had been Roberto's prison, stopped, shock frozen on her face.

"He's… he's not here," she murmured, her emerald eyes filling with tears. "Where is he?! Ay smelled him; Ay knew he was here but he's not here!" Rahne let the tears fall down her face, angry with herself for getting all excited on smelling her boyfriend and not finding him.

"Ay failed him," she muttered, not noticing that Amara had come up behind her and draped an arm over her shoulders.

"That's not true, Rahne. Roberto may have just been moved to a different hallway; he's still here; I know it," Amara said, trying to cheer up her friend. She looked over at Ray, who was staring at the bars on the cell, his eyes narrowed. "What's wrong Ray?"

"Something's not right here. The bars on this cell aren't charged with electricity; in fact, it appears as if the protection on them has been turned off, almost like what you would do with a light switch. Roberto was here; I don't doubt Rahne's sense of smell, but he was moved somewhere by someone alien, someone evil…" Ray muttered, fingering the bars as he said this. Rahne and Amara stared at him, not believing what they were hearing.

"Ye mean that…" Rahne began but was interrupted when they heard Warren exclaim as he saw Betsy in the other cell in the hallway.

"Betsy!" Warren exclaimed, beyond glad to see his girlfriend. Determined to save her he stepped back and, taking a deep breath launched a hoard of metal feathers charged with poison at the bars, watching as the feathers exploded on contact with the bars. He smirked when he saw that he had succeeded in melting the bars to the cell. He then ran inside, followed closely by Remy, who was ready and willing to heal Betsy.

While Remy held her, Warren gently moved her hair so that it rested over her shoulder and, taking a feather from his wings mentally allowed it to release its venom on the collar around Betsy's neck. Watching carefully he waited until the collar melted before striking as he forcefully ripped apart the melted hinges of the collar and flung it over his shoulder in anger, glad when he heard it hitting the wall.

Remy then took off a glove and, placing his hand on Betsy's face transferred energy into Betsy's body, making sure to get rid of all the mental scars as well as physical ones. Once he'd finished he nodded to Warren, who came and took his place in front of Betsy. Remy then stepped back out into the hallway where Lance and Kitty were motioning him over.

Betsy's eyes slowly opened and when they alighted on Warren's blue eyes, she screamed and threw her arms around her boyfriend, reveling in knowing that he was okay and not dead. Warren buried his face into her hair; sure, it may not have been washed for a few days but to him it didn't matter; all that mattered was that his Betsy was safe and sound and in his arms once more.

"Warren, where are we?" Betsy asked, her amethyst eyes signaling that she was worried about something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

When Warren told her Betsy's eyes echoed the tone of her voice when she said, "Apocalypse's back?! I thought you and the others defeated him ten years ago!"

Warren nodded and replied, "I thought so too, Bets. However, it seems like the term immortality comes into play here, wouldn't you say?" Laughing, Betsy agreed and together the two exited her cell, only to be met by the worried looks of Remy, Lance, and Kitty.

"Betsy, do you remember anything that happened while you were trapped in that cell?" Lance asked, taking charge as he stepped forward.

Betsy, agape at the new appearances of Lance and Kitty stammered, "No… no, not that I can remember. Wait, maybe…" Betsy closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to get past the pain that had overcome her when she had been tortured. One memory took center stage, causing her to gasp in horror. She opened her eyes to meet the worried ones of Lance. "Yes, I do remember. I remember someone screaming in pain… I'm not sure but I think that this person was screaming someone's name."

At these words, Rahne gasped and stumbled back into the arms of Ray and Amara, silent tears falling down her face once more. Betsy, giving her a surprised look, continued, "Then I remember gaining control over my mind for about five minutes; long enough to hear someone come in the hall, unlock the other person's cell, mutter something which for the life of me I can't remember, then leave, the other prisoner was unconscious. I, I didn't get a look at the guy but from your reaction, luv, I hope that it's not anyone important to you. I'm sorry, that's all I can remember." Betsy finished, tears beginning to fall down her own cheeks. Warren wrapped his arms around her, allowing her to draw comfort from her.

Lance, Kitty, and Remy looked at each other and, seemingly reading each other's mind, said simultaneously, "We are in such deep shit now it's unbelievable." They then turned to look at the gathered mutants from hallways #3 to #16, all of whom were looking like they wanted to kill something or, namely, whoever had come to take Roberto away.

Lance, taking charge, stepped forward and said, "Don't worry; we'll find Roberto. I promise." He seemed to be speaking to Rahne with his words and when she heard them straightened up, dried her tears and nodded, resolutely, believing in every word that Lance said. The others followed her lead, showing Lance that he had an army of mutants and one sorceress ready to take revenge and fight to the death if necessary.

"Bon; now we need to meet up avec Rogue's group; follow moi," Remy commanded and led the way out of the cell, with Kitty helping him to phase everyone through the doorway and into the main labyrinth of Asteroid Evolution, en route to meet Rogue and bring an end to Apocalypse once and for all.


	59. Rogue's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **Well, I decided to take some classes on hacking (yes, they do have those) to learn some new tricks; I'll let you know how they go…

_**A/N: **_Well, it's been less than six months, meaning that it hasn't been that long since I last updated. This makes me happy. Anyway, enjoy, and let me know what you think!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 58: Rogue's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 2**

**_Hallway #19, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 1:29 AM_**

Rogue, Torpid, and Lucas, meanwhile, were running towards the first hallway on their list of rescue: hallway #19. Lucas was leading with Torpid and Rogue right behind him. Once they reached hallway #19, Lucas disabled the defense system and Rogue used her abilities to copy Kitty's phasing powers so they were able to phase through the door. Once inside Torpid backed up in shock as she saw and heard the screams of the mutants who were imprisoned in the cells.

Rogue noticed this and, kneeling in front of Torpid, said, "Don't worry sugah. We're goin' ta free them and find tha rest of tha Morlocks; okay?" On getting an affirmative nod from Torpid, Rogue grinned and, moving forward, she told Lucas, "Okay, Lucas. We need ta rescue these poor mutants as quickly as possible; got it?" On getting a nod from Lucas, she gave the signal. While Torpid watched the door, Rogue and Lucas ran towards the two cells in the hallway.

Rogue stopped in front of her cell and saw with shock that Laura was inside, screaming. 'Damn Apocalypse for making tha younger mutants go through this too,' Rogue thought, angered at his callousness. She studied the bars and on noting that electricity was zooming across the bars smirked. Calling upon Ray's powers, she closed her eyes and absorbed the electricity, reveling in the feeling of the bolts of lightning running through her body as they recharged her energy reservoir in the process. Once she had completely absorbed all the electricity Rogue opened her eyes and, using her super strength, rammed the bars, smirking when they gave easily under the force she applied.

Rogue ran inside and, kneeling in front of Laura, saw that her visor was close to cracking into pieces. 'Must be from tha battle a few days ago,' Rogue thought, frowning at the thought. She then moved so that she was behind Laura and moved her hair so that she could see the collar clearly. Then, copying Scott's ability, she shot a concentrated beam of energy at the collar, carefully making sure that she didn't burn Laura. Once done she blinked, willing Scott's power back into her subconscious, and gently removed the collar, throwing it behind her with enough force to shatter it as well as leaving a sizable dent in it. She then moved so that she was in front of Laura and, making sure to control her powers, took off her glove and touched Laura's face, glowing white as she transferred energy to Laura, repairing Laura's visor in the process.

Laura opened her blood red eyes, now behind her repaired blue visor, and gasped on seeing Rogue in front of her; she was even more shocked at realizing that Rogue was touching her face and wasn't draining her of anything. "Rogue?" Laura whispered, wanting to make sure that what she was seeing was what was real.

Rogue smiled and replied, "It's meh, sugah. How are yah?" When she saw that Laura was speechless, she chuckled, noting that she was still shocked that she had control over her own powers. "Don't worry; Ah have control now."

Laura merely stared at Rogue, whom she looked up to because she knew Rogue never gave up on her dream of eventually gaining control over her powers. "But… how?" she asked, expecting something that was along the lines of Rogue's control being short-lived.

However, when Rogue smiled at her again, life in her eyes, Laura realized that Rogue had total and complete control over her powers. It wasn't a fluke; it was permanent.

"Later, sugah. Right now, we need ta go and help Torpid and Lucas outside," Rogue said, removing her hand from Laura's face and placing her glove back on. She then helped Laura to her feet and led her to the main hallway, where she saw a tall man with a goatee supporting someone she recognized instantly.

"Aaron!" Laura exclaimed as she ran forward and knelt in front of Aaron, noting the scars on his face. "My god, what happened?"

"It seems tha' yer friend was involved in some pretty heavy fightin'," the man spoke, causing Laura to look up. What surprised her about the man was that his eyes held the same comfort and knowledge that Xavier's held whenever she looked into them. She watched as the man put Lucas on the ground gently then stood up again.

Rogue ran up to them and, pulling off a glove, knelt in front of Aaron, placing her hand on his cheek as she began the healing process. "What happened, Lucas?"

The man – Lucas, Laura corrected – answered, "Ay entered his cell and saw tha' he was badly hurt. Ay freed him and after reassuring him tha' Ay was on yer side brought him out; but seems tha' he fainted on the way." Lucas looked at Rogue, as if expecting punishment for letting Aaron faint.

Rogue nodded at the explanation and said, "Don't worry, Lucas; it ain't your fault. Aaron gets his powers from absorbin' tha good emotions from around him but because he was exposed ta bad emotions he's very weak. Yah did fahne." Rogue finished healing Aaron and, standing up, put back on her glove and went over to talk to Torpid.

Aaron's eyes slowly opened and as they did, focused on Laura, who was watching him intently. "Laura! Are you okay?" Aaron was expecting a nod but not the fierce hug that Laura gave him as she leapt forward, making sure to be careful with him. Lucas, sensing they needed time alone, left to go and talk to Rogue.

"Ah'm so glad you're okay," Laura muttered, glad beyond belief that one of her best friends wasn't dead. Aaron slowly returned the hug, reveling in the fact that he was hugging his crush and didn't have to worry about her response; after all, she had initiated it, so it had to mean something; right?

Aaron and Laura broke the hug and began to talk, with both of them getting to their feet, and then walked over to the group of three near the door, hands entwined. After Rogue explained what was going on, including Apocalypse's being back in the living flesh, she told them they had to be quiet in the hallways. Laura and Aaron nodded, both ready to help in any way possible. Rogue then phased the five of them through the door and they moved onto the next hallway.

_**Hallway #17, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 1:37 AM**_

Upon reaching hallway #17, Rogue and Lucas had developed an efficient plan: he and Aaron would rescue one cell's occupant, Rogue and Laura would take the other cell, and Torpid would stand guard. It was with this game plan that they entered the next hallway to the screaming of its two occupants. Nodding, they spilt, with Rogue and Laura ending up in front of the cell that contained Mark.

"Ready, Laura?" Rogue asked having decided to forego her gloves because she knew that quick movement was crucial. It was with this spirit that Laura pressed a small button on the side of her visor, releasing a powerful stream of white energy in the form of stars at the bars, causing a collision of energies. Laura's won out and the electricity soon gave out to reveal the charred remains of what once was the door to Mark's cell.

Rogue, nodding at Laura's success, quickly moved into the cell and held Mark still, motioning for Laura to go behind him and get rid of the collar. Laura followed Rogue'e telepathic instructions and, concentrating, sent out an intense beam of energy in a thin beam of light at the collar, taking care not to harm Mark. When she had finished she stopped the beam and, reaching down, took off the collar and threw it at the back wall, taking heart when she heard it smash into pieces.

Rogue quickly healed Mark and with Laura's help removed him from his cell. Once outside Mark opened his green-blue eyes and asked, "Que pasa (What's wrong)?"

Rogue started at the Spanish and, not really having learned it, searched through her mind for someone who understood it. She surprisingly landed on Pietro, who it seemed knew a multitude of languages due to his quickened ability to pick up things much faster than normal people and mutants. "Hey, Mark; don't worry. Ah'm here to rescue yah and make sure yah're in shape to face Apocalypse and help save tha world. 'Kay?" Rogue looked at Mark's face and had to grin at the incredulous look on his face, signaling that he was shocked with the question content.

Mark nodded enthusiastically and opened his mouth to say something but quickly turned his attention to the girl across from him, who was moving away from Aaron.

"Get away from me, you psycho!" Opal screamed, trying to shoot bullets out of her fingertips but finding to her horror that she couldn't do anything; her powers weren't working. She had just been told that some weirdo Apocalypse was back by a strange adult with a goatee and some boy that she vaguely remembered seeing a few days ago during that big battle at the mutant prep school; how was she supposed to react? Joyfully?

Mark stood up straight, knowing that he had somehow been completely healed, and, closing his eyes, concentrated on sending vines out of his fingers at the girl, restraining her long enough for Aaron to heal her. When Rogue tapped him on the shoulder, signaling that Aaron had done his job, Mark opened his eyes only to meet the angry gray eyes of the girl, who was now up in his face.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Opal demanded, not liking the fact that this mutant, who had come out of nowhere, had held her down with _plants_ so that the other guy could heal her; that wasn't right in her book.

Mark shrugged and replied, "You were hurt and needed help; I knew Aaron could heal you and so I just held you down so he could do his job." He then stared into the girl's eyes, feeling a challenge coming on. "Besides, it's not like you could've made it out of the cell on your own, si (yes)?"

The girl narrowed her eyes and replied, "I was handpicked for the Brotherhood by Magneto himself; of course I could have gotten out by myself. What do you think I am; dumb?"

Mark stared into her eyes and suddenly laughed, startling all those who were watching. "You've got spirit; I'll give you that, chica. But, you'll have to prove it to me later, 'kay?" He stuck out his hand to get agreement to his suggested bargain. However, when the girl didn't move he frowned and said, "Listen: if you don't help us then the whole world will be destroyed. What's more important: your pride or the world?"

The girl, eyeing the outstretched hand, grunted and took it, saying, "Fine; I'll help you out only because I want a world to exist so that we can duke it out. I'm Opal."

Mark shook the hand and said, "Fair enough; I'm Mark." It was then and there that a spark was lit, that flickered with every breath the two young mutants took; Rogue just couldn't wait to see what came of it. She then explained how to move through the halls and, after getting agreement from them phased them out of the hallway and into the next one.

_**Hallway #25, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 1:50 AM**_

The next hallway was hallway #25 and on entering Rogue spilt her team up into the groups from the last hallway, adding Mark and Opal to guard duty with Torpid. Lucas and Aaron took the first cell and on looking inside saw the prisoner screaming in pain, his nose a bit larger than a usual nose. Lucas closed his eyes and, concentrating, sent out a beam of pure psionic energy at the bars, making sure that the intensity was higher than what the electricity contained. After a few moments the electricity sputtered and died, leaving the bars unprotected. Lucas then attacked with his telekinesis, stretching the bars wide enough so that he and Aaron could step through.

Once inside they saw the prisoner, who had his head to the ground in a vain attempt to lessen the pain that was flashing through his mind. Giving each other a silent signal, they moved into position, Aaron kneeling in front of the prisoner, holding him still as best he could and Lucas telekinetically moved the mutant's hair so that he had a clear shot at the collar. Concentrating, Lucas sent a small, precise psionic blast at the collar, not letting any stray thoughts into his mind as he did so.

After a few minutes, Lucas smiled when he heard the metallic click that signaled that he had officially decimated the collar to pieces, resulting in the twisted metal pieces on the ground of the cell. Lucas opened his eyes and nodded to Aaron, telling him to do his thing.

Aaron nodded in reply and, concentrating, placed both hands on the prisoner's face and let his powers take over, the good emotions surrounding himself and his patient in a brilliant white aura. Aaron focused on the emotions and good vibes he got from his family and Laura, his teammate whom he had a major crush on, and the memory that he drew most strength from was when she had hugged him a short while ago. It took Aaron longer than usual to heal this prisoner, as he found massive physical and mental damage on him; Aaron was determined to get rid of it all so that his mutant could help them in the final battle that was going to happen.

Aaron opened his eyes when he was done, reveling in the feeling of having just finished a successful healing. The man's eyes opened and on seeing Aaron in front of him recoiled, backing up until he was up against the wall.

"Calm down," Aaron said, trying to calm the man but failed, as the man looked around wildly, his eyes looking for something he knew. On seeing nothing, he did the only logical thing he could think of: he bolted.

Lucid ran from his cell and out into the light of the hallway, and looking either way realized with a start that he was surrounded by metal. He was too busy to notice Torpid bolting over, a wide grin covering her face. Lucid almost fell down when he felt something hug him and looking down saw Torpid giving him a tight hug. "Torpid, where are we?" Lucid asked, relieved to know that one of his favorite pupils was alive and well.

Torpid looked up and motioned to Lucid what was going on, telling him all about Rogue, Lucas, Mark, Opal, Aaron, and Laura. She also told him that Rogue's boyfriend Remy had gone to rescue the others, including the other Morlocks. Lucid nodded, taking it all in. He just couldn't believe that the X-Men, whom Evan spoke of highly, were working with the Brotherhood and Acolytes to defeat some ancient being named Apocalypse.

Lucid listened to all Torpid told him, shocked at the depth of the battle into which he and the other Morlocks had been dragged. "Fine, Torpid, we're in this big battle; now what?" he asked Torpid, who stomped her foot and signaled him her answer.

"Oh no, there is no way that I'm fightin' an ancient Egyptian mutant!" Lucid protested, trying to finagle himself out of a possible death-scenario. However, he backed right into Lucas, causing Lucid to jump back in surprise.

"Ay know how ye feel, umm, is it Lucid Torpid?" Lucas said; turning to Torpid to make sure he had the man's name right. "Lucid, Ay was one of the four Horsemen of Apocalypse but then Rogue," here he pointed to the Southern beauty, who was working on opening the other cell with Laura's help, "showed me tha' Apocalypse tricked me; he's planning on turning the entire world into one where mutants rule. However, in the process we'll all die. We won't be needed; if he had it his way we wouldn't be livin' right now. We need yer help; ye need tae help convince the other Morlocks tae join with us and fight; are ye with us?" Lucas said appealing to the loyalty he knew the Morlocks shared.

Lucid eyed Lucas, not sure if he should trust him, and looked to Torpid for reassurance. Torpid eagerly nodded yes, wanting one of her mentors to help free all of the other mutants. Finally, Lucid sighed and said, "Fine, I guess you're right. I'll help you in this fight." Lucas, grinning, offered Lucid his hand, which, after a push from Torpid he took and shook.

Meanwhile, Rogue and Laura had just broken through the other cell's bars and once inside Rogue gasped in shock; in front of her was Pietro Maximoff, self-proclaimed speedster extraordinaire and current boyfriend of Lexie Howlett. Rogue soon got over her shock and, nodding to Laura, she got ready to heal Pietro as soon as the collar was off and Laura got ready to take off his collar.

Laura quickly did her job and as soon as the collar was off Rogue touched Pietro's face, transferring her energy to him, doing her best to heal him quickly before he woke up. However, Rogue had forgotten about Pietro's sped-up nervous system, due to his powers, and so was still holding on when Pietro's sapphire eyes opened and alighted on her, widening as he saw where her hand was.

"Damn-get-your-hand-off-me-Rogue!" Pietro exclaimed, immensely relieved when Rogue quickly removed her hand. However, it took him a moment to realize that Rogue had been touching him without any protection on her hands. "Rogue, how come you don't have gloves on and how come I'm not in la-la land?" Pietro asked worriedly, thinking that maybe it wasn't Rogue in front of him and that it was really Mystique, come to trick and torture him.

"It's really meh, Pietro," Rogue whispered, making sure to keep her voice low in case someone was walking by the hallway's main door. "Ah just have control over mah powers; tha's all." She looked at her hands, smiling, and Pietro could sense in the smile that she did indeed have control over her powers.

"Well, umm, I guess congrats are in order," Pietro said, getting to his feet and brushing himself off. He then looked at Rogue and, cocking his head to the side, said, "Why are you here, anyway?"

Rogue sighed and as she explained what was going on, Pietro had trouble taking it in; the expressions on his face ranged from utter bewilderment to disgust to fear. When Rogue got to the part about Erik having changed Pietro snarled and said, "No way in hell-did-he-change. For God's sake, he put Wanda in an insane asylum when she was six because he didn't want to have to deal with her emerging powers. He treated me like shit for all of the time I spent with him; hell, when he got tired of me he gave me to a foster family so he wouldn't have to be reminded of our mom; Wanda and I were the reminders of all that he had once stood for and all he lost. Why in the hell do you think-he-cares-about-us, huh?"

Rogue looked at Pietro the whole time he was ranting, noting how there were the beginnings of tears in his eyes. When Pietro had finished Rogue stepped forward and, placing her hands on Pietro's shoulders, saying, "Ah know it's hard to believe, Pietro, but your dad really has changed; Remy and Ah spoke ta him ourselves. He wants to help yah all; all three of yah." Rogue then left the cell, Laura following, leaving a stunned Pietro in the cell.

'Three of us?! Anya's dead; Wanda and I were the only children dad said he had… Wait. Who was she, the one who's dating hard-nosed Summers' younger brother… Polaris. She has the same powers as dad and even has the same ability to float in the air using manipulation of magnetic fields… damn it! He had another kid and didn't tell us! He's going to pay…' Pietro's face hardened into disgust and anger and he rushed out of the cell, ready to find his father and make him pay. However, once he was at the door he realized with a start that he had no idea how Lexie was doing.

Rogue came up behind Pietro, surprising him when she said, "Wondering where Lexie is?" Pietro whirled around, angrily staring at Rogue. "Don't worry, Pietro; Ah know tha' yah and Lex are an item; Ah won't tell anyone. But, yah got ta be with us when we go ta confront Apocalypse; are we clear?"

Pietro glared at Rogue, having not expected this from her. Then, smirking, he crossed his arms and replied, "Sure, I'll help you guys; but on two conditions." Here his smirk grew to encompass his face. "One: you help me find Lex and make sure she's okay and two: you help me find out who my third sibling is; if this sibling really exists. Deal?" Pietro stuck out his hand for Rogue to take and just as she was about to take it he took it back, sticking out his tongue at her in his classical pose, stating that she was too slow. Rogue sighed and smiled, making a mental note never to fall for that trick again. She explained to Pietro and Lucid how to travel through the hallways, which took some effort as Pietro kept interrupting. Finally, Rogue took to telekinetically snapping his mouth shut so she could finish.

"Let's go!" Rogue said as she and her troupe moved out. Rogue, having released her hold on the speed demon's mouth, blushed furiously when she heard him whisper, "Oh, tell Remy that he did an excellent job of tutoring you in blackmail."


	60. Rogue’s Chronicles: Rescues, Part 3

**Disclaimer:** Well, I decided to take some classes on hacking (yes, they do have those) to learn some new tricks; I'll let you know how they go…

_**A/N: **_Wow! It's been less than a month, and I'm updating! I am so psyched! Anyway... this more action with Rogue and her crew, more rescues on the way, and some guest appearances... I hope you like it too!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

'_blah' _- telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 59: Rogue's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 3**

**_Hallway #22, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 2:05 AM_**

The next hallway that Rogue's group entered was hallway #22, which outwardly seemed the same. However, beyond the steel door, it seemed different somehow.

Pietro whistled as he entered the hallway, stating, "Damn, there's no metal in here!" Then he started at what he had just said. "Wait, if there's no metal in here then that means –" Pietro didn't finish as he ran the length of the hallway, stopping at the cell that held a young woman with emerald green hair – Polaris.

Rogue, who had watched Pietro, saw what he was going to do and yelled, "Pietro, no!" Rogue accessed Pietro's speed and sped up to Lorna's cell just in time to grab Pietro's hands that had been poised to touch the bars.

Pietro gaped at her. "How-in-the-hell-are-you-using-my-powers?!?!" Pietro quickly wrenched his hands free from Rogue's hands and stared at her.

Rogue smiled and said, "Tell yah later, Pietro. Right now, yah and Lucid need ta know rule #1 in these halls: never touch tha bars; they have electricity runnin' tha length of them and unless yah want to get electrocuted yah don't touch 'em; understand?" Pietro nodded and turned his attention to the cell's occupant as he heard her scream.

"She's my other sister; isn't she, Rogue?" Pietro asked sadly, not noting the look of sympathy that ran through Rogue's eyes. Rogue quickly told to Laura to go and help Lucas and Aaron with the other cell's occupant; she'd take care of Lorna's cell herself.

"Yeah, she is," Rogue responded after a moment. "But Pietro, if there's one thing tha' Lorna never wanted anyone else ta know it's tha' she's the daughter of Magneto and Wanda's and your sibling. Ah only know because she confided in meh, and Ah feel guilty for breaking mah vow of secrecy but yah and Wanda have a right ta know 'bout Lorna. Be kind ta her, Pietro; she hasn't had an easy life. She and her sister – yeah, her younger sister, who isn't a mutant – had a kind family tha' they lived with for most of their lives but they were killed by tha FOH five years ago; they still cry for them on tha anniversary of their deaths. Just be gentle, Pietro." Rogue put a hand on Pietro's shoulders, giving him a sense of reassurance before she turned to the bars.

Rogue decided to make a bit of a show for Pietro's sake, to try to bring back the cocky attitude that she was used to seeing from him; honestly, the attitude had grown on her through the years of their acquaintance. She chanted, "Ah call on tha powers of lightning and energy! Come to meh and help meh!" Rogue's eyes went pure white as she concentrated on Ororo's energy. She then launched a devastating lightning attack at the bars of the cell, and after a moment, the bars cracked and disintegrated. Rogue breathed and her eyes returned to their natural emerald color.

She turned to Pietro, who was once more gaping at her, shock evident on his face. "Damn, Rogue, you've got to teach me how to do that someday!" Rogue shot him a crooked grin and then nodded with her head at the cell, telling Pietro to come and help her free Lorna. Pietro, grinning, took off inside, followed by Rogue. By the time Rogue had knelt in front of Lorna, Pietro had taken off the collar using a combination of lock-picking skills he had picked up from Leon and super-speed. The collar lay on the ground, crushed into pieces underneath Pietro's boots.

Rogue gently placed her hand on Lorna's face, transferring energy to the magnetism wielder. Lorna groaned and slowly opened her emerald eyes, gasping in surprise when she saw Rogue touching her face with her bare hand. "Rogue?! How are you touching me?" Lorna asked, letting her worry get the best of her.

Rogue took her hand off Lorna's face and said, "Ah have control now, Lorna, and it's permanent. Now, if you'll excuse meh Ah have to go and help tha others." Winking, Rogue left the cell to go and help Lucas, Laura, and Aaron, who were trying to awaken Tyne but without success. Lorna felt someone grab her arm and help her to her feet and thinking it was Alex instantly flung her arms around the figure beside her.

Pietro froze when Lorna hugged him; she obviously thought that he was Summers' younger brother; otherwise, she probably wouldn't be hugging him. Pietro decided to break the truth to her and, gently removing Lorna's arms from around him brought her into the light that emanated from the hallway.

Lorna saw whom she had really hugged and, gasping, stepped back in shock. "Quicksilver! What are you doing here?! Where's Alex?" Lorna looked around; rushing past Pietro and into the hallway, hoping her boyfriend was outside, waiting for her. When she didn't see him she sighed and put her hands over her face, embarrassed that she had hugged someone else that she had thought to be Alex and hadn't even checked to be sure.

Pietro came up behind her and, gently placing a hand on her shoulder said, "Polaris, Lorna. Listen to me. I know that you're my sister and I know that you feel ashamed that we're related. Hell, if I were in your shoes I'd be embarrassed as well." He smiled at her and on getting no reply sighed and continued, moving to remove Lorna's hands from in front of her face and lifting her chin so that they were eye-to-eye, "You may not like Wanda or me but I really want to get to know you better… you and your sister. We're siblings; even if that means that we share the same egotistical father. I want to be the brother to you that you deserve. Besides," and here Pietro grinned, a gleam coming into his eyes that reminded Lorna of the look Alex got when he had a plan to piss off Scott, "the more siblings I have the more brainpower I have to come up with plans to torture Summers and his perfectionist, sissy of a wife. So, will you let me get to know you better?" Pietro offered his hand in friendship to Lorna, praying that she'd take it and not leave him hanging, feeling like a complete idiot.

Lorna eyed Pietro – no, her brother she corrected – and wondered if she could trust him. Then she remembered what Rogue had told her about Pietro and Wanda when Lorna had asked after confiding in the Southern mutant the truth about her heritage. She remembered hearing how both Pietro and Wanda had been treated like shit when they were younger and as a result, both resented their father. Deciding that for that reason, along with having more help in torturing Scott and Jean, she could trust Pietro she took his hand, shaking it warmly. "I think that I'd like to get to know you and Wanda better; after all, if we're going to be siblings then we have to learn how to speak telepathically so no one else knows our plans to torture and destroy Scott and Jean, right?" She grinned and looked at Pietro, seeing a grin identical to hers plastered on his face.

"Exactly!" Pietro exclaimed, ecstatic that he had made up with one sibling. Now, he had one more to go. Rogue called them over at that moment, and after reassuring Lorna that they would find Alex introduced Pietro to Tyne, who had finally woken up after Aaron got help from Rogue on healing her, mentally and physically.

"You're Quicksilver, right?" Tyne asked shyly, causing Pietro to wonder why she was the leader of the younger mutants. "It's nice to meet you."

Pietro nodded and moved to shake her hand but was shocked when he felt Tyne grab his hand roughly, causing him to send a glare her way. However, Tyne's blue eyes glared right back at him and he gulped on seeing them narrow so that they resembled hawk's eyes. Tyne then shifted into a large hawk, complete with black and white feathers, yellow eyes, and a bright red plume of feathers on her head, Pietro backing up in shock.

"I am known as Wing; do not forget that one simple fact," Tyne said, her voice now volumes lower and holding a dangerous tone to it. Pietro gulped and nodded, making a mental note never to piss the leader of the X-Sword team off again.

Tyne then shifted back to her human form and, holding a hand out to Pietro said, "Sorry; I could sense you had doubts about my leadership abilities and I had to prove you wrong." She shook hands with Pietro then moved over to her team, all of whom were snickering at Pietro.

Rogue turned to Pietro and, crossing her arms, asked, "Have any doubts 'bout Tyne's ability ta lead?"

Pietro shook his head no at least five times before answering, "Not in the least; not at all." Rogue, still chuckling, explained to Tyne and Lorna how to travel the hallways then led the way to the next one, filing the scene away for a later time when she could tell Wanda.

**_Hallway #24, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 2:20 AM_**

When Rogue's group, now numbering eleven, entered hallway #24 Rogue was shocked to realize that Moira MacTaggert had been imprisoned as well.

She snarled, "How dare that bastard Apocalypse imprison Moira?! She's not even a mutant, for tha love of Gawd!" She then motioned to Lorna to do her thing, which she did right away. Rogue had reasoned that since Lorna could control all metal it would be simple for her to use her powers and rip the metal bars off the doors, which would save precious time.

Lorna nodded and, stepping forward, closed her eyes and put her hands out in front of her. Concentrating, Lorna floated into the air and in a few minutes had managed to rip the bars off of their cells and twist them into an unrecognizable pile of scrap iron, which landed at Rogue' feet. She then opened her hands and landed lightly on her feet, letting out a sigh of relief that Rogue's plan had worked successfully.

Pietro placed an arm over her shoulder and said, "Well done, sister of mine. Now I have some more lock-picking tools!" To prove his point, he produced a handful of small metal pieces he had taken from the pile, the perfect size for use with the locks on the collars. Lorna grinned back at him, and Rogue watched the siblings interact, glad she had told Pietro about Lorna; as long as Lorna didn't find out that she had told Pietro about his siblings she was fine.

Rogue then motioned to the next wave of mutant rescuers, which consisted of Laura and Aaron for one cell, she and Pietro for the other. The rest would keep guard over the door, Opal doing so with an air of disgust, obviously feeling that guard duty was beneath her. Rogue decided to help Moira and so sent Laura and Aaron to the other cell. She and Pietro ran over to Moira's cell and ran inside, where she knelt in front of the Scottish doctor and got ready to heal her.

"Done!" Pietro called out as he dangled the now useless torture device from his hand, twirling around the piece of metal he had used to free the doctor in his hand. He then chucked the collar over his shoulder at the wall, grinning when he heard it fall to pieces as it hit the wall. Chuckling, Rogue placed her hand on Moira's cheek and healed her, making sure not to harm her psyche at any time.

Moira's gray-green eyes flickered open and when she saw Rogue she exclaimed, "Rogue! Thank the gods tha' yer here! Sean's in trouble; they tortured him and Ay'm not sure where he is and is Rahne okay?" Moira's eyes searched Rogue's for the answers to her questions and on seeing that Rogue didn't know let silent tears fall down her cheeks.

"Ay'm so worried about them. Ay mean, we were taken captive days ago and Ay was forced tae create these damn collars for torturing mutants and people while they tortured Sean in front of me… oh god, wha' have Ay done! And Ay don't even have a clue where Rahne is. Why is this happening?!" Moira buried her face in her hands and began to sob, even as Rogue wrapped her arms around the woman, crooning to her that it would be okay; that they would rescue Sean and Rahne and get everyone off the damn prison. Rogue noticed that Moira was still in the clothes that she had been in when she had given her last lesson via satellite a little over a week ago. They consisted of a knee-length navy blue skirt, a pale purple blouse, a white lab coat, and her white sneakers, all of which was now ragged and dirty. She also had on her silver locket that Rogue knew had pictures of her parents, her fiancé Sean, and Rahne inside, and her engagement ring, a gold band with a small diamond in the middle surrounded by a topaz and ruby.

"It's not your fault, Moira," Rogue soothed, leading Moira out of the cell and into the hallway, Pietro following. "Apocalypse is back, Moira, and he needed your skills with technology ta create those damn collars so tha' he could torture us all and choose his Horsemen. Yah had no choice, Moira. None of us blame yah; yah had ta do what yah could ta save Sean's and your life." Rogue nodded to Lorna to come over and help her comfort Moira, who was still crying, although her sobs had gotten quieter.

Meanwhile, across the hall, Laura and Aaron had rushed into the cell and after she had freed the imprisoned man, Aaron had healed him. When the man didn't wake up, Aaron tried once more. Concentrating and focusing on the happiest memories he had ever experienced Aaron placed both hands on the man's face, closed his eyes, and enveloped them in a brilliant white aura.

SEAN'S SUBCONSCIOUS

Aaron found himself on what appeared to be some kind of plane, the stars shining brightly. He saw his patient below him, looking at the sky from what appeared to be the tower of a stone castle, surrounded by a beautiful landscape. He was dressed in dark brown khakis, a cream-colored wool sweater, black sneakers, and a black jacket; the same clothes he had been wearing when Aaron found him. Aaron landed and approached the man, noting how he seemed to be sad here.

The man turned to him and said, "Hello, boyo. I was just watchin' the stars, lookin' fer a way out. Name's Sean; Sean Cassidy. However, others know me as the Banshee." Aaron started; in front of him was one of the founders of the X-Men – Banshee!

"I'm Aaron and I can help you find your way home," Aaron said, fighting the urge to question Sean about the original X-Men team as he walked until he was beside Sean. "Give me your hand."

Sean sighed, and continued looking at the sky. "Ye know how hard it is to live with the burden tha' I helped create the X-Men? Charles wants me back to serve but I can't bring meself to do it; I'm happy with me life with Moira and yet I feel like me time on Earth's done. Maybe I'm better off stayin' here."

"Absolutely not!" Aaron sternly said, startling Sean so that he looked at him. "We need your help, Banshee. Apocalypse is back and we need all the help we can get. Besides, Rogue said that Moira was in trouble; she needs you too, Sean. Are you just going to abandon those who care for you and need you or are you going to come back with me and help them?" Aaron offered his hand to Sean again.

Sean stared at Aaron for a moment, pondering his words, then, grinning, looked at Aaron and said, "Aye, you're right, boyo. They need me and I'm not going to let Moira down." He took Aaron's hand and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared in a flash of white light.

SEAN'S CELL

Laura had been watching the white light when it suddenly vanished in front of her eyes. She opened them and saw Aaron and the man standing, hand-in-hand, grinning at each other. Laura noticed that the man's clothes, which had been ratty and torn before, had somehow changed into a uniform that she thought was odd in that it looked a bit old-fashioned. It consisted of dark green pants, a dark green turtleneck with yellow stripes going from shoulder to shoulder, goldenrod boots, gloves, and a large black "X" stitched onto both his shoulders, along with being the main centerpiece of his dark brown belt that she figured had a communication device. It also seemed like he had a black cape that draped from his shoulders to just above his knees.

Aaron turned to Laura and, grinning, said, "Laura, let me introduce you to one of the founding members of the X-Men: Sean Cassidy, a.k.a. Banshee." Laura gaped, obviously surprised and beyond shocked that Banshee, one of the founding members of the X-Men and the most powerful, was in front of her.

Sean grinned and said, his sky blue eyes twinkling with amusement, "Is this yer girl then, Aaron?" Aaron and Laura started and, after looking at each other, vehemently shook their heads no. Sean laughed his voice a deep tenor tone that reached into the hallway and reached Moira's ears.

"Ay hear Sean," Moira whispered, not sure if the laugh she was hearing was there. When the laugh didn't fade, she ran from Rogue and Lorna's arms, the two women shooting each other knowing glances. Moira ran into the cell and on seeing Sean covered her mouth and whispered, "Sean?"

Sean stopped laughing and spun around in surprise. When he saw Moira he walked towards her and said, "Moira, me luv; it's me." He caught Moira as she flung herself into his arms, burying her face into his uniform as he rested his head on hers, both reveling in knowing that the other was okay.

"Sean, are ye okay?" Moira asked, reaching up to touch her fiancé's rough face. Sean grinned, knowing that his Moira was more concerned about his well-being than her own; it was one of the things he loved about her.

"I'm fine, luv, thanks to Aaron," Sean turned to allow Moira to see Aaron and Laura, whom she nodded hello to, as she knew them from their lessons via satellite with her.

Rogue entered the cell and said, "As happy as Ah am to know tha' yah two are both fine we need ta get going and save tha others and defeat Apocalypse, okay?" On getting nods from them, she grinned and her smile widened when Sean stepped forward and said, "I'm at yer service, Rogue. The Banshee is ready to terrorize the skies once more."

Rogue drew them into the group of mutants and, after introductions, the group set out for the next hallway.

_**Hallway #18, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 2:45 AM**_

Upon entering hallway #18, Rogue and Lucas, accompanied by Pietro and Aaron respectively raced to free the other mutants. However, first Lorna took to the air once more and dismantled the bars of the cells. This time, though, the electricity that had been on the bars didn't fade away as it had the previous time; it instead set a path for the mutants and Moira, who were shocked at this turn of events. Before the electricity could get any closer Lucas stepped forward and, concentrating, created a psychic shield tinged with fire to protect them. As he did this his eyes blazed bright purple with the effort and those behind him were shocked, Moira especially.

"Is tha' Legion helping us?" she asked Rogue, who turned to her and nodded. Sean, meanwhile, was studying Lucas, looking for any sign of the darkness that he could always sense when he was around Lucas. However, this time he found nothing.

"Rogue," Sean asked, and Rogue turned to him. "Is Legion really with us or is he trickin' us?" Rogue shook her head, knowing that Sean and Moira didn't trust the young man for obvious reasons, the prime one being that he had attacked Muir Island numerous times, hoping to gain mutant recruits but failing every time.

Rogue replied, "Lucas is really on our side, Sean. Remy and Ah cleansed him of tha evil aura tha' Apocalypse had been infecting him with for over a decade remotely. He's really on our side and feels tha' he has ta help us ta make up for all tha years tha' he caused his parents and others trouble. He wouldn't be with us now if Ah didn't trust him." She then turned back to Lucas, who had just put down his shield after getting rid of all the stray electricity by throwing it back into the pile of scrap iron that was now on the floor of the hallway. "Good work, Lucas." Rogue said, and Lucas turned around, grinning widely as if he had just opened the biggest gift on Christmas morning.

The two groups then rushed off to the cells, Moira choosing to tag along with Lucas and Aaron to help them with the cell's occupant. Lucas and his group rushed into the cell and with Aaron and Moira holding the mutant while Lucas disintegrated the collar that was around his neck, careful not to harm him. A shaft of light filtered through the chasm of a doorway and Aaron started on realizing that Ross was in front of him.

"It's Ross!" he exclaimed, drawing Moira's attention. She nodded in agreement, recognizing the young samurai from her lessons and her studies of the metal in his blood due to his powers. "I'm going to heal him," Aaron said but before he could place his hands on Ross's face Moira stopped him.

"Wait a minute, Aaron," she said, her doctor's eyes picking up something unusual about Ross. "Ay sense tha' he is full of anger. Unless we can calm him down, the moment he wakes he will attack." Moira put her chin in her hand to think and then snapped her fingers on coming up with a solution. She looked up to Lucas, who was standing behind Ross, waiting for her orders. "Legion, can ye go inside his mind and cleanse him of the anger?"

Lucas started; he knew that Moira was asking him to do this because she trusted him; something he still had yet to come to terms with was the fact that people actually trusted him now.

"Are ye sure?" he asked haltingly, giving her the chance to reconsider her offer.

When Moira nodded yes, he let out a breath and said, "I'll try, Dr. MacTaggert." He then moved so that he was in front of Ross, Aaron and Moira having stood up to give him room and, closing his mind Lucas delved into the telepathic side of his personality, drawing on David's powers for back-up.

As Lucas moved through Ross's mind, he saw that the young mutant was tortured with thoughts that ranged from anger at his parents for not letting him grow up normally to being angry with himself for being a mutant.

'Poor boy,' Lucas thought to himself, vowing to help him control his anger when this whole deal with Apocalypse was done. Lucas knew the effects anger could have on a person and was determined not to let it happen with Ross.

Finally, Lucas reached the core of Ross's mind and, after a few minutes of manipulation and erasing managed to banish all thoughts of anger from Ross's mind. Lucas nodded his head and closing his eyes willed himself to return to his body.

Lucas opened his eyes and found himself staring into the black eyes of Ross, who was regarding him with a steady gaze.

"You helped me get rid of the anger inside my mind?" Ross asked quietly, his voice low and deep. Lucas nodded and was beyond shocked when Ross placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Thank you, my friend." He then saw Aaron and a grin broke out onto his face, causing his eyes to glimmer with happiness. "Aaron, I feel like, how do you say, crap. Can you heal me?"

Aaron, grinning, nodded and came forward placing his hands on Ross's arm healed him. Once he was done, Aaron got to his feet, pulling Ross up with him. They shook hands, grinning all the while, and then Ross turned to face Lucas again, his black eyes regarding the adult in front of him.

Ross bowed from the waist down, as he had been taught by his parents, and said, "Thank you again, friend, for helping me." Lucas, feeling self-conscious, bowed in return, his black eyes not leaving Ross's.

Moira, a smile on her lips, watched the scene, now knowing that Lucas had truly changed. She had been testing Lucas when she asked him to help Ross and he had passed with flying colors. She motioned to the three men in the cell to follow her out of the cell and into the hallway.

Rogue and Pietro, meanwhile, had freed Britt, Rogue taking her time to heal the young girl, feeling a kinship with her. She had powers that made her feel uncomfortable; after all, talking to a wild bird during a training session would make anyone self-conscious of their powers. Rogue also knew that Britt had a close relationship with Rahne, with whom she worked in the veterinary clinic that was located on the grounds and who understood how mutant powers could make their possessor self-conscious. Rogue also repaired Britt's glasses, which had broken during the fight at the school two days ago.

Britt's dark brown eyes opened and on seeing Rogue, she grinned and threw herself into the woman's arms, a muffled "Thank you" barely audible.

Pietro watched this for a moment then, feeling like he might gag, left the cell to go and talk to Opal and Lorna, both of whom was helping out on guard duty. A few moments later, Rogue and Britt followed Pietro out of the cell, where Britt was reunited with her team, Tyne taking the time to reassure her that they would do fine in their next battle. Ross stared at Britt from afar, noting how happy she looked when among her friends. When he noticed that it was his turn to welcome her back, he did so with a smile and a look in his eyes that made Britt blush a little; not that anyone noticed, as they were all listening to Lucas give the run-down of the rest of their mission. The group then left to go and rescue the occupants of the next hallway.


	61. Rogue’s Chronicles: Rescues, Part 4

**Disclaimer:** Currently achieving intermediate status in hacking… rest of information classified…

_**A/N: **_… Well, I know it's been a while, but at least it hasn't been 6 full months... Life has been irrevocably insane on my end; this has been done for months but I just hadn't found time to update this until now… Hope you like this chapter as we see more mutants being rescued and more interaction between those already found. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 60: Rogue's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 4**

**_Hallway #26, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 3:00 am_**

Rogue's group, now fifteen strong, ran into hallway #26, ready to save the next batch of prisoners. Lorna's hands moved quickly and effortlessly, pulling the metal bars off the cells without hesitation, anxious to find her boyfriend and reassure herself that he was safe. She was also looking for Wanda, hoping that she could find her for Pietro. In the short time that he had known about their familial ties he had already done so much, including accepting her without argument or disbelief; something she thought he'd never do. She had to repay that favor.

Once the bars were off the cells, Lucid, who had been prowling down the hallway looking for other Morlocks gasped and raced towards the second cell, Torpid on his heels.

"It's Caliban!" he exclaimed, Torpid nodding in agreement. They ran inside and both winced when they heard him screaming in pain; they didn't know that Caliban could scream and, for that matter, that he could do so as loudly as he sounded now.

Rogue and Pietro, accompanied by Ross, ran into the cell and as Rogue knelt in front of Caliban she recognized him from descriptions X-Factor had given her of the mutant who had saved them when Mystique had set the mansion to self-destruct almost nine years ago. She figured that by Lucid and Torpid's reactions this mutant was a Morlock. "Pietro, go help keep guard. Ross and Ah'll handle this."

Pietro opened his mouth to protest, but abruptly closed it when Ross glared at him with a look that chilled him to the bones. Saluting Rogue, he ran out the cell, thinking, 'Damn, that kid's got a glare that could rival Wanda's.'

Rogue motioned Lucid over and told him to help her hold Caliban still so that Ross could free him from the collar around his neck. Lucid nodded and, kneeling in front of Caliban, grabbed his arms while Rogue grabbed his shoulders and neck, doing her best to keep his head still so that Ross could slice the collar off.

Ross, at a telepathic command from Rogue, closed his eyes and concentrated on turning his right hand into a small dagger. Ignoring the pain that went through his hand when he changed the bone structure a small silver dagger soon took the place of his right hand. Ross let out a relieved sigh when he felt the small healing factor that Moira had discovered he had when was examining him take effect. He opened his eyes and, concentrating, held the collar with his left hand and carefully sliced through the circuitry of the collar, being sure not to harm Caliban.

Once he was done, he changed his dagger back into his right hand and took the collar, throwing it behind him as he did so. He nodded to Rogue, who took that as her signal to heal Caliban, being careful to control her powers. Once she was done she retracted her hand and got to her feet, signaling to Lucid that he and Torpid had to convince Caliban to help them in the upcoming battle.

She and Ross then left the cell to go and help the other rescuers with the other cell, which was proving quite difficult to break through as another shield had seemingly sprung up from out of nowhere. After a few moments, Caliban opened his eyes, and on seeing Lucid got to his feet and gave him a quick hug, along with patting Torpid on the head.

"What'ssss going on?" Caliban asked, slate gray eyes showing their black tint as he looked back and forth between the two Morlocks.

Lucid looked to Torpid, who nodded her head in encouragement and said, "Well, you remember Evan telling us about that ancient Egyptian mutant Apocalypse that he battled a while ago?" When Caliban nodded, Lucid continued, "He's back and we've all teamed up to bring him down once and for all and Rogue, from the X-Men, has asked if we could help convince the other Morlocks to help them in the fight. Torpid and I are already in and now we have to ask: are you in, Caliban?"

Caliban stared at his friends, not believing what he was hearing.

"No," he said after a moment then made to exit the cell but Torpid blocked his way, forcing him to stop to prevent from running into her outstretched hands… which were not covered in their typical gloves. He watched Torpid signal something to him and, shaking his hand, answered, "No, Caliban will not involve himssself in ssssomething that could end up in hiss death. Even if Callisto and Evan have already agreed to help them Caliban will not."

Torpid stamped her foot once more and this time reached out and froze Caliban in place. She then signaled to him again, hoping to get him to agree. Caliban couldn't move any part of his body except for his mouth and eyes, the latter of which was interpreting Torpid's hand movements in an effort to understand them.

Finally, he sighed and said, "Fine, Caliban will help defeat this Apocalypssse. But firssst, Torpid, could you unfreeze Caliban so he can move?" Torpid eagerly nodded and released Caliban from her touch, making sure to put her gloves back on when she went to hug him. Caliban sighed and, as he hugged the younger Morlock back, thought, 'How doesss Caliban get himssself involved in thesssse thingssss?'

Torpid and Lucid brought Caliban out into the hallway where they were met with a sight that might be called laughable if not for the circumstances. The second shield had been banished but now Rogue, Pietro, Ross, Laura, Mark, and Opal were desperately trying to hold the other prisoner – Fred – still so Lucas could get rid of the collar. Nothing was working; Rogue didn't want to use her powers for fear of hurting him and her super-strength didn't do a thing against Fred when he was angry and thrashing around like he was presently doing.

The three Morlocks watched the scene for a few minutes until Torpid had had enough of watching him suffer and marched towards him, taking off both gloves and tossing them on the ground as she went. Lucas saw her coming and, grinning, said something to Rogue, who looked over her shoulder and grinned as well. She told all those who were trying to hold Fred still to make room. Pietro, who was the fastest, raced away to Lucas' side, to try to hold him from the back, giving Torpid the room she needed.

Torpid signaled with her hands to Rogue that they were all to let go of Fred just before she touched him, so that they wouldn't be paralyzed as well. Rogue communicated this to the rest of the mutants, who nodded in agreement. Torpid lifted her hands and just as she was about to touch Fred the others let go and as her hands made contact, Fred froze instantly, his body now stock-still. Everyone sighed in relief, Lucas especially, as he could now take over Fred's collar quickly and safely.

Lucas came over after taking Fred's collar off, followed by Rogue. Torpid let go of Fred, allowing the large mutant to move, and while putting back on her gloves, Rogue gave her a hug, thanking her telepathically for her actions, to which Torpid responded enthusiastically. Lucid and Caliban watched the exchange wordlessly, amazed at the bond of friendship that existed between the two mutants who hadn't even known each other's names before now.

Fred brought a hand to scratch his head, his blue eyes showing confusion as he took in the metal hallway where he had been held prisoner.

"Where am I?" he asked, looking around for something or someone he knew. His eyes alighted on Pietro and walking over placed his hand on the speed demon's shoulder, causing him to jump into the air in surprise.

Pietro spun around and on seeing Fred grinned and said, "Well, if it ain't Freddy! How you doin' buddy?" Pietro slapped Fred on the shoulder, earning him a grin in return.

"Fine, but what in the hell was up with the torture devices?" Fred asked, scratching his head once more in confusion. Moira stepped forward and as soon as Fred saw her he exclaimed, "Hey, I know you! You came and helped me out when I was sick a few years ago!"

Moira grinned and said, "Yes, Ay did. It's good tae see ye, Freddy. I believe that Ay'm tae blame for the collars; Ay was forced tae make them by Apocalypse." Moira's smile was rueful and not as guilt-laden as it had been in the past, no doubt thanks to the efforts of both Rogue and Sean in convincing her that she wasn't at fault.

Rogue took over and after telling Fred what was going on he instantly agreed to help, knowing that he could trust what Rogue said since she was friends with Wanda and Lance, both of whom didn't trust just anyone. Rogue and her group then took off for the next hallway, Fred bringing up the end of the pack, Pietro right beside him.

_**Hallway #27, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 3:20 am**_

When the group entered hallway #27, they were met with screams of pain and sorrow from the cells' occupants, unfortunately normal for those who played the role of rescuer. Fred, Pietro, and Opal's ears pricked up when they heard one scream in particular heads swinging towards the cell from which the sound emanated.

Opal growled and spat, "I hear Toad's voice in here!" She didn't catch the nasty glare Fred sent her way, not appreciating the acidic remarks aimed at his best friend.

"She's right, Fred. I know Todd's in here because I'd recognize his scream of pain anywhere," Pietro commented, his tone serious. "I also think Piotr's in here; the other scream sounds too low and deep to be anyone else's."

Fred nodded and took off for Todd's cell, not hearing Rogue's warning about the bars being electrocuted. However, Rogue had forgotten that Fred was nearly invulnerable when he put his mind to a task; so when Fred reached for the bars she was shocked to see that he merely ripped the bars off without a second thought. On remembering she slapped a hand to her forehead, muttering, "Of course; Fred's invincible when he focuses on a task."

Pietro motioned to Opal to come with him to free Todd but when she vehemently shook his head no he glared at her, normally handsome face set in a look that reminded Opal too much of Wanda's patented glare. Still, she didn't feel it right that she back down and so glared right back at him. While the two of them participated in the slightly unorthodox glaring contest Lucas, Aaron, and Lorna went to the other cell, where they found Pietro's hypothesis to be dead-on. Inside the cell, Piotr was screaming in pain, holding his head in an attempt to rid himself of the painful images in his mind.

Lorna stepped up to the plate and, using her powers ripped off the bars from the cell, Lucas making sure that any stray electricity didn't hit them. Once the bars were off, they rushed inside to free Piotr, who was now moaning in pain. Lorna and Aaron held him still while Lucas took off the collar gently, noting that a giant "A" was on the back of Piotr's uniform. Frowning, he made a mental note to try to get Lorna to remove it once Piotr had been healed.

Lucas nodded to Aaron, who activated his powers and made sure to heal any damaged part of the mutant in front of him – physical and mental – as thoroughly as he could. Once done, Aaron got to his feet and watched as Lorna and Lucas hefted Piotr to his feet, each putting one of his arms over their shoulders.

"Damn… Ay did nae know tha' he was so heavy," Lucas complained, not at all used to the kind of weight that seemed to consume Piotr.

Once out of the cell, Piotr groaned and opened his eyes, only to find himself staring into Rogue's eyes.

"Rogue," Piotr muttered blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't imagining the sight in front of him. However, a thought came to him that caused him to exclaim, "Where's Katchya?!"

Rogue frowned, wondering how she should put what she wanted to say into words. "Well, Piotr, she's with Lance and tha others, rescuing tha other prisoners on this asteroid. If yah're askin' whether or not she's okay, she's fahne but…" Here Rogue trailed off, not sure if Piotr knew what she had been about to say.

Piotr took his weight off Lorna and Lucas, causing them to breathe a small sigh of relief at not having to carry Piotr around anymore and asked, "Does Katchya still look like a monster?"

Rogue stepped back, never having heard Piotr talk about Kitty in the manner he just had. Rogue decided, just for that comment to tell Piotr what he didn't want to hear. "Kitty is not a monster! She and Lance just have new looks; they're no more a monster than yah are, Colossus! Ah know she may have looked strange when yah first saw her but she's tha same as she was before! If yah ever want to speak ta her again yah have to apologize and show some respect ta her and Lance!" Rogue then shot a glare at Piotr and turned on her heel to go and help Pietro, Fred, and Opal with Todd, who had been brought out of his cell in Fred's arms.

Piotr stood there, feeling like he had just failed his family again. 'I let my fear take over. I was so stupid; how can I face my family?' After a few moments, he felt a hand touch his shoulder and looking down he saw Lucas, who, while tall in his own right barely reached Piotr's chin.

"Do nae worry 'bout yer Kitty; Ay know for a fact tha' she's fine," Lucas reassured Piotr, telling him a white lie to make him feel better. "Now Ay have a question for ye, mate. How would ye like it if Lorna here removed tha' disgustin' letter from yer back?" Piotr merely stared at Lucas then at Lorna, who was standing beside Lucas, patiently waiting for Piotr's answer.

Piotr replied, "Dere would be nothing else I desire." He placed a hand on Lucas' shoulder in thanks and hugged Lorna, being careful to not crush her. He then turned around, trusting Lorna to remove the letter. Lorna concentrated and in less than a minute Piotr felt the metal disk that the "A" rested on leave his uniform, taking off what felt like a literal weight from his shoulders. He sighed in happiness and then turned around once more, his eyes thanking the two mutants before him for helping him get rid of the "A" and the bad luck it brought with it.

"May I have disk?" Piotr asked, earning him a startled glance from the two mutants. Lorna shrugged and handed him the disk, not quite sure what he wanted it for. Piotr took it and, armoring up he threw the disk in the air and smashed it to pieces with his fist, small metal pieces flying around the hallway. He then powered down and grinned, happy to be free. Lucas and Lorna brought him over to the other mutants to help stand guard.

Meanwhile, Rogue had called Aaron over to help her, as Todd had more injuries than she had seen so far, most old wounds that he had never gotten treated properly for various reasons. Rogue, due to her short-lived status as a Brotherhood gal knew that some were from his run-ins with the Bayville football team, but others looked worn and cracked, signs that they had occurred years before. Aaron and Rogue had combined their powers at least five times but so far Todd hadn't woken up. Fred and Pietro were starting to get worried; after all, Todd had been with them through it all and always cheered them up when they were down. Opal was even getting a bit worried; not that she'd admit it.

"One more time, Aaron," Rogue commanded, and, closing her eyes, gave Todd more of her energy, Aaron doing the same. This time, they heard a groan issue from Todd and both sighed in relief, glad that they had managed to save Todd.

Todd opened his eyes and said, "Man, what truck came and hit me, yo?" He didn't get a response as Fred hugged him, leaving him unable to breathe for a moment. When Fred let him go, he placed Todd on his feet and Todd was then enveloped in a quick but bone-crushing hug from Pietro.

After Todd had freed himself from the hug, he turned to look at his savior and his eyes widened on seeing Rogue. "Rogue! What's going on, yo?"

Rogue explained about Apocalypse and on hearing the name Todd's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Damn, yo! He's back?! We don't even have all of the extended Brotherhood and Lance's a traitor… he's the most powerful of us, yo!" Todd began to hyperventilate until Opal did something unexpected to those who lived with her; she gave Todd a quick hug then backed off. Todd merely stared at her, not knowing how to respond to the hug.

Opal, tired of being stared at, snapped, "Listen to me, Toad. Lance isn't a traitor; Magneto lied to us! Apocaypse is back but if what I remember from Wanda is true you guys defeated him once before and you weren't that much older than Leon and me! You're older now, more powerful, and you have us to help you; so stop hyperventilating and concentrate on helping us find the others and win!" Opal then marched off and went back to guard duty, her moves followed by an amused Rogue and admiring Mark.

Todd stared after her and, gulping, asked, "Did Opal just hug me and tell me to stop actin' like an idiot, yo?" On getting nods from Fred and Pietro he groaned, covered his face and asked, "Man, what kind of _Twilight Zone_ did I step into?"

Rogue chuckled and on asking Todd whether he was with them or not he nodded yes, saying with pride that he was ready to prove to Wanda that he was the mutant for her. Rogue felt bad; she knew from Lance and Kitty that Wanda had chosen John and knew that when Todd found out he'd be heart-broken. She then told Piotr and Todd how to travel the halls and the large group left, ready to rescue more of their mutant compatriots.

_**Hallway #20, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 3:35 am **_

Rogue's group, now numbering nineteen strong, entered hallway #20 only to be greeted with the usual sights and sounds they had come to expect: prisoners were in their cells, screaming in pain due to the collars around their necks. Rogue was getting sick and tired of seeing all her friends in pain; she knew something had to be done. She decided to try a new tactic that she hadn't used before, if only to stir up things up a bit.

Lorna raised her arms to take off the bars from the cells but Rogue stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Tha' won't be necessary, Lorna. Ah'll go get 'em myself." Rogue winked and in a flash of light and smoke teleported into the two cells, first grabbing Erica and then Devon. She then teleported back in front of the group of mutants, who were trying to clear the smoke from in front of them.

"Damn, Rogue, even the smoke smells like the elf's!" Todd exclaimed, not at all pleased to be reminded of his archenemy. Pietro agreed, not liking the fact that the smoke's particles were starting to go into his nose, giving him the urge to sneeze.

Rogue shrugged and said, "Sorry guys; guess when Ah use Kurt's powers Ah get the smoke and smell too." She then motioned to Lucas and Pietro to come and take off the mutants' collars. Lucas and Pietro, used by now to taking off the collars quickly and harmlessly did so in a span of two minutes, with the result being two dismantled collars lying pieces on the floor. Aaron then stepped forward and, with Rogue next to him they healed Devon and Erica respectively.

Devon was the first to wake, turquoise eyes fluttering with the effort of having to open after being forced to stay closed for a long period of time. He brought a hand to his head and asked, "What's goin' on?"

Aaron said, "I've just healed you, Devon, so you'll be a bit dizzy for a moment. You were forced to endure images of horror for a long time and you have to give your mind time to heal; that's all." Aaron looked into Devon's eyes, willing him to heed his advice and not do something foolish. However, as Devon usually did, he ignored the advice given to him and tried to stand up but instantly lost his balance and fell forward, Aaron catching him.

"Told you that you had to wait a moment, Dev," Aaron chided, knowing that his friend would do that. Devon lifted his head and grinned at Aaron, causing him to chuckle. After a few minutes, Aaron helped Devon to stand, after which he was welcomed back to his team with laughs and slaps on the back.

Meanwhile, Rogue had healed Erica and she, like Devon, had tried to stand as soon as she woke up. Rogue had caught her, earning her a scathing glare from Erica, telling her that she didn't appreciate being helped. Rogue rolled her eyes, used to this attitude from Erica.

A few minutes later, Erica tried standing again and this time accepted Rogue's help; reluctantly, that is. Once on her feet Erica rubbed her head and, cursing, asked, "Damn, what happened?"

Rogue explained what was going on and when both Devon and Erica heard what was going on they started and stared at each other. Erica spoke and she asked, "You mean to tell us that Apocalypse, whom we battled against in a DR simulation and lost to spectacularly is back??! We don't stand a fuckin' chance!" Erica crossed her arms and glared at Rogue, daring the Southern mutant to rebuke her.

Rogue opened her mouth to do just that but Devon took the words out of Rogue's mouth. "Listen, Rogue and the older mutants defeated this guy ten years ago; what makes you think that we can't do it?" Erica stared at Devon, her mouth open in shock. She opened her mouth to respond but once more Devon interrupted her, continuing, "We can do this, Erica. We have the power to do this! With everyone's help, we can defeat this guy and save the world! It's what we've been trainin' for every minute we've been at the school! Are you with us or not?!" Devon stared at Erica, willing her to say that she was with them, even if they had to struggle to reach their goal. Erica was too speechless to answer; she just nodded her head, which caused a large grin to break out upon Devon's face.

Rogue interrupted them by saying, "Good work, Devon. Now, when we travel in tha hallways we only talk usin' our minds; not a sound, understand?" When Devon and Erica nodded yes Rogue said, "All right guys; we have only two more hallways left 'fore we meet up with tha other group; let's move!" With these words, they all moved out and made their way towards the second-to-last hallway.


	62. Rogue's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 5

**Disclaimer:** Currently achieving intermediate status in hacking… rest of information classified…

_**A/N: **_… Well, I know it's been a while, but in my defense I've been student teaching and worrying about graduation from the undergraduate end of my life. Next was deciding on graduate school... But I promise that this story **will **be finished... eventually. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 61: Rogue's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 5**

_**Hallway #21, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 3:44 AM**_

When the group arrived at the next hallway, all of them were antsy, anxious to find the others and defeat the menacing evil. Pietro desperately wanted to find Wanda and reassure her that he was there for her, while Lorna was also worried about Wanda; yet, she was actually more worried about finding her boyfriend and reassuring herself that he was fine and not dead. Alex not being dead was very, very important. Tyne was worried because although she had most of her team with her she was missing Lynn and her second-in-command Rex; oddly enough, she was more worried about Rex then Lynn. Todd wanted to find Wanda and not only see for himself that she was safe and sound but to also convince her that he was the one for her while Piotr was worried about Kitty. He hadn't been thinking rationally when he'd blurted out earlier that she looked like a monster and now he needed to apologize for upsetting her... and convince her that he was better suited for her than Avalanche. Let it not be said that Piotr gave up; he was in this battle for Katchya's heart no matter what.

Upon entering the hallway, Rogue tried to teleport into the prisoners' cells to retrieve the mutants once again, but when she attempted it she instantly returned, blood leaking from a cut on her cheek. "Damn, guess Ah can't teleport into these cells like Ah did in tha last hallway." She rubbed the blood away and the others watched as the cut quickly healed, with no mark of the cut remaining.

Rogue smiled a little on hearing them curse in amazement; if she was honest with herself she was still amazed at her new abilities, such as her having access to the combined healing abilities of Logan, Lexie, Sabretooth, and Mystique. After a minute, she moved further into the hallway, trying to see who was in the cells but found that there was a large shield in front of the cells, preventing her from seeing inside. Cursing, Rogue thought for a moment, trying to think of a way to get through the shields.

"Got it," she said, snapping her fingers at the idea. She looked over to the gathered group of mutants watching her, all wondering how they were going to solve this problem. "Opal, could yah come here?"

Opal started; surely The Rogue didn't mean her… did she? When she hesitated, Mark came up behind her and, acting quickly, pushed her towards Rogue. Opal stumbled, not having been aware of what was happening until it was too late.

"Thank yah, Mark," Rogue commented, amused at her student's antics. Opal turned around and glared at Mark, who merely grinned and waved. Growling, she turned back to Rogue, hoping that she could get permission to throttle the guy directly behind her.

Almost as if she was reading Opal's mind Rogue commented, "No, Ah won't let yah choke Mark; yah decided ta not come on yahr own and Mark merely helped yah ta go in tha right direction." Motioning to either side of the hallway she continued, "Ah need yah to fire bullets of pure adamantium at these shields; that should shatter them inta pieces."

Opal stared at Rogue and said, "Look, I'd like to help you but I can't shoot adamantium bullets out of my fingers; the metal's just not in my system." Opal shrugged and turned to move back towards the Brotherhood but Rogue placed a hand on her shoulder, turning Opal around, a grim expression on her face.

"Yah're lying; the scent's comin' off yah in waves. Listen: Wanda may be in one of these cells. How'd yah feel if yah didn't help her and she ended up dying? How would that make yah feel?" Rogue stated, the absolute seriousness of the situation reaching Opal. Answering Opal's unspoken question she added, "Yeah, Ah'm dead serious."

Opal stood frozen for a moment, weighing the positives and negatives of helping Rogue. Then she remembered how Wanda had become her surrogate sister when she had desperately needed someone to help her cope with both her powers and the aftermath of her family's abandonment. Wanda had helped her when she needed her the most; now it was her turn. "I hate to say this but… you're right. I will help you; however, it's not for you. It's for Wanda." Opal glared at Rogue as she said this and Rogue merely nodded, knowing that Opal's real loyalty lay in the friendship she felt with Wanda, something that she could call upon if Opal's services were needed once again.

"Move," Opal commanded, pushing her way past Rogue and positioning herself in the middle of the hallway, one arm each aimed at the cells, which happened to be directly across from each other. Opal concentrated, closing her eyes and as she did so, she ran through the arsenal of materials she could use for her bullets in her mind, looking for adamantium. One interesting aspect about Opal's powers that she had just recently discovered was that she was able to copy any material that she had seen and use it in her bullets. Opal ran through her mental catalogue and finding the adamantium she had just seen Wolverine and X-23 use in the last battle she smirked. 'Okay, all I do is concentrate and send the design to my fingers, which will create the bullets I need…'

Opal opened her eyes and with a yell shot five bullets of pure adamantium out of each hand, the bullets gleaming silver in the dim lighting afforded by the lights in the hallway. As the group of mutants watched in amazement the bullets hit their target, creating five holes that when connected resembled a star. The shields began to flicker, losing their energy as they faded in and out of existence until finally a cracking sound was heard. The bars of both cells were soon revealed and sounds could be heard emanating from the prisons.

Rogue ran up to one of the cells and saw John inside. Her face went pale as the Australian's usual mad grin and twinkling eyes were hidden behind a shield of pain and the hoarseness of his voice told her that he had been screaming his heart out for a while now. She then looked across the hall and saw that Wanda was in the other cell, screaming her heart out, the pain breaking Rogue's heart. Apocalypse was a true and right bastard.

"Good work, Opal," Rogue said, smiling at Opal in encouragement but frowned upon realizing that the young mutant was scowling at her. After a moment, Opal focused her attention on her hands and began blowing imaginary smoke off her fingers from where the bullets had exited.

"Pietro, Lorna, and Aaron: take tha cell across from meh and Lucas and Laura come ta this cell," Rogue commanded, figuring she would let Wanda's family rescue her while she helped John. The mutants that had been named ran to their positions, each hoping that they would be able to save the prisoner's life.

When Pietro reached the cell he stopped dead, shocked at what he was seeing. "Wanda…" he whispered, afraid that if he blinked the image would disappear and there would be an empty cell in front of him. Almost as if in a trance, Pietro reached out to touch the bars but was stopped when Aaron grabbed his hand.

"What are you doing?" Aaron demanded, still not used to having Pietro on his side. Pietro glared at him and, wrenching his hand free stared into the cage.

"That's my sister, Healer," Pietro snapped, eyes glinting dangerously. Aaron started; he looked from the woman in the cell to the man in front of him, not seeing the similarities. They were siblings?!

"What's wrong, Pietro?" Lorna asked jogging up behind the two males. When she saw Pietro's head tilt towards the cell, she glanced inside and sucked in her breath. "That's her," and her half-brother nodded without saying anything.

"Lorna, if you would be so kind," Pietro calmly stated, turning to look at his younger sister. Aaron was ignored completely. Lorna nodded and, without a word raised her hands and wrenched the bars off the cell, sending the electricity towards Pietro, who quickly created a small tornado to stop it from reaching him. The electricity fizzled into nothingness once caught inside Pietro's miniature tornado.

Once the bars were off, they ran inside, Aaron trailing behind them still nervous. There was no way in hell that he was going to upset the speed demon again. Pietro rushed around Wanda so that he was behind her and, taking out one of the small metal picks he had taken from the scrap iron pile a few hallways back picked the lock. Once he heard it click, he removed it and tossed it behind him so that it landed on the wall of the room, crumbling to pieces on impact.

"Is she going to be okay?" Lorna asked, concerned. By now, Aaron had responded to Pietro's silent message and began to work on healing the young female. However, while traveling through Wanda's mind he found, to his utter shock, that she had two sets of memories in her mind. Deciding to ask Pietro what to do rather than risk his wrath he brought himself out of the healer's trance he had put himself into, being careful not to harm her in any way.

"Quick – um, Pietro, there are two sets of memories in your sister's mind; do you want me to keep one set and erase the other or do you want me to keep them both intact?" Aaron asked slowly, looking to Pietro for advice. Lorna stared at Pietro as well, wondering what Aaron meant.

Pietro sighed keeping a short leash on his temper. No way was Lorna going to learn what he had helped do to his sister. Ignoring Lorna's questioning gaze, answered, "Aaron, listen: it's not my place to tell you which set of memories to keep; I'd be no better than Magneto in that respect. Leave both of them in there for the moment and later on we'll ask Wanda what she wants done." Aaron nodded and, going back into his trance delved into Wanda's mind, leaving both sets of memories alone. After a few more minutes, Aaron came out of his healing trance, having completed his work but abruptly fell back onto his hands in the process.

"Used a little too much energy there," he said, trying to catch his breath. Lorna, meanwhile, had taken Aaron's place in front of Wanda and, as a mother would with a child, brushed stray strands of hair back behind Wanda's ear, as gentle as gentle could be.

Wanda groaned and, opening her eyes, instantly put a hand on her forehead, trying to deal with all of the memories of the last time she had been awake. 'Magneto, Lance, Kitty, John…' She then looked up and, blinking owlishly found herself staring into Lorna's eyes. "Wait… you're the X-Factor member who has the same powers as Magneto, right?"

Lorna nodded and, pausing a minute replied, "Yeah, I am. The reason that I have the same exact powers as him is because I'm his daughter. I'm your half-sibling."

Wanda stared at the woman in front of her in shock, having trouble comprehending just what she had heard. "You're, you're my sister?!" Wanda asked incredulously, her voice going up a decibel in pitch.

Lorna nodded and said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier; it's just that I didn't want to have anything to do with that creep Magneto and I thought that you guys wouldn't accept me. But, that all changed when Pietro convinced me that he would've felt the same way if in my shoes and that he really wanted to get to know me better. He welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like I belonged here; I hope you do the same." Lorna abruptly stopped her babbling and bowed her head at her last words, not sure what she should do next. However, she was surprised when Wanda leaned forward and enclosed her in a hug.

"Of course I'll accept you; you're family and family needs to stick together," Wanda said, doing her best not to cry. She knew how Lorna felt; she had felt that way years ago when she had trouble coming to terms with the fact that Pietro had lied to her about her past and had made her look like a fool. Then, she had realized that Pietro had lied to try to protect her; he had acted as any good brother would have... well, as good a brother as Pietro could be. She had then reconciled with her twin and they had steadily began getting closer again, even going so far as to cooking together and spending more time with each other.

Wanda then felt another pair of arms enclose her and knowing that it was Pietro said, "Pie, you okay?"

Pietro sighed and said, "Yeah Wanda; I'm fine." They stayed that way for a moment until they broke apart and got to their feet, Wanda turning around and giving Pietro his own individual hug in the process. They then walked out of her cell and on seeing Rogue struggling with the other prisoner Wanda opened her telepathic link with John, hoping to find him.

"No!" she exclaimed, feeling that John was on the verge of collapsing into unconsciousness; possibly a coma if the pain was severe enough. 'He can't do this to me; I won't let him!' Wanda then ran over to John's cell where she pushed past Lucas and Laura, who were trying to get close to John but were failing as he had taken to thrashing about in pain from the images he was seeing in his mind ignoring confused looks from her siblings. She turned to Rogue, who hadn't noticed her and demanded, "What's wrong with him?!"

Rogue started; she turned to face her friend and on seeing her anger-obsessed face said, "Wanda, Ah'm glad ta see that yah're fine," Rogue went to hug Wanda but the Goth didn't let her; she glared at her friend, sapphire eyes sparking with anger.

"Rogue, what's wrong with John?" Wanda asked again, tone deepening to one that expressly said, 'If you don't answer me I'll hex you into oblivion.'

Rogue took a deep breath and replied, "Lucas, Laura, and Ah have been tryin' ta free him but we can't get him ta stay still. He escapes Lucas' telekinetic hold and mah super-strength is useless on him. Right now we're tryin' ta figure out how ta help him." She looked at Wanda, waiting for her reaction, and was shocked when she saw Wanda move so that she was kneeling in front of John and watched as she closed her eyes and began to glow blue and silver.

Pietro and Lorna, who had come over to the other cell after Wanda had run off stood at the entrance, shocked at what they were seeing.

"Sis?" Pietro croaked, not sure if he should go help her or stay put. His question was answered when Wanda sent a hex-bolt to land in front of her siblings, creating a small hole in the floor, acting both as a warning and as a separating mechanism to keep them away from her.

Wanda concentrated on her new powers and, after making sure she would have control over them, opened her eyes. She then began chanting words that no one except Rogue understood, and even then Rogue was sure that she was only getting the gist of her friend's mutterings. The full meaning was beyond her. John's body began to glow with the same aura that surrounded Wand, and for a moment, it seemed like they were both floating in the air.

Then, to the amazement of all those who were watching John opened his eyes, which were now a deep red instead of their usual ocean-blue and, lifting his hands, he put them on his collar and tore it off, flames coming from his fingers as he did so. He flung the charred piece of metal behind him, knelt in front of Wanda and blinked once more, his eyes returning to their usual shade of blue. Wanda powered down and opened her eyes to find that John was kneeling in front of her, a smile on his face.

Without saying a word, Wanda leaned forward and hugged John, the Australian mutant returning the favor, his head resting on hers, both sets of eyes closed. Pietro watched in shock, not believing his eyes while Lorna grinned. She'd had an inkling from talking with Kitty (whom everyone knew couldn't keep a secret to save her life for more than a month) that Wanda had had a crush on pyrokinetic and refused to act on it, reasons unknown. Now, however, it appeared as if she had finally decided to act on her feelings.

'Good for her.'

Rogue, smirking, slyly stated, "Welcome back, John. We missed yah; especially Wanda." This earned her a glare from the witch, who then turned to face Pietro, who was still standing with his mouth open.

"Problem, Pie?" she asked sweetly, John also turning his attention to face the speedster.

Pietro merely blinked and opened his mouth to retort but nothing came out. He then muttered, "Nothing," and left the cell, trudging over towards Todd to break the news to him as gently as possible. Why was he the one stuck with all of the God-awful jobs?!

Lucas, Lorna, Laura, and Aaron followed him, deciding to leave Rogue to explain to John and Wanda the rules of the hallways. This might have been influenced from the feelings that each of them got, stating in laymen's terms that the trio wished to be alone.

Rogue waited until they were out of hearing distance and, after subtly checking her surroundings again said, "Ah guess yah guys should know that Remy and meh are two of the gods and goddesses as well."

John grinned and, getting to his feet with Wanda tapped his head, replying, "Oy knew that, Sheila. Known it all along, but didn't think it wise to admit it in case someone was spyin'." Wanda looked up at John, surprise written on her face at his revelation.

"You knew and didn't tell me?" she exclaimed, pinning her boyfriend with a glare that he just grinned at, not losing a beat. He shrugged and opened his mouth to reply but stopped when Wanda snapped it closed with her hand, stopping him from speaking. "Why?" she demanded, removing her hand to allow John to speak.

"Oy couldn't; Lance told me that Oy couldn't tell anyone 'bout wot was to come 'till it had happened; it's really annoying," John replied seriously, a signal that he was indeed telling the truth. John could be serious... but this had only happened on a few occasions, many of them revolving around personal items going on in his own life or life-and-death battles.

Wanda opened her mouth to reply but Rogue beat her to the punch by asking John, "John, do yah know who tha other two divine beings are?"

John nodded and opened his mouth to reply, only never got the chance to answer Rogue's question because Todd chose that moment to enter the cell, eyes blazing. When saw Wanda standing beside John, his hand around her waist, he lost it.

"Snookums! How in the hell could you choose him over me, yo?!" Todd asked outraged, eyes showing just how angry he really was. When Pietro had told him the news he had refused to believe it, but now that he'd seen it for himself he was shocked; he didn't quite know what to say, much less do.

Wanda sighed and stated, "Todd, listen: I know that I've treated you like shit over the years and for that I'm sorry; no one deserves to be treated that way. You have to understand that I was never interested in you that way. I hexed you every time you gave me one of your cheesy pick-up lines because I hoped that you'd get the idea and go find yourself someone who was worthy of you. I belong with John, not you. I hope we can still be friends, Todd." She held out her hand, her eyes telling Todd that she was being completely honest with him; something that the Brotherhood knew from experience was quite rare.

Todd regarded the outstretched hand, not sure if he should accept it. He then looked into Wanda's eyes and, upon seeing the honest shining there answered, "We can still be friends, snookums. I ain't got a problem with that, yo. But I can't accept the fact that you and _him_," Todd emphasized the word, "are together. See ya." Todd glared at John then left the cell, making his way over to the rest of the Brotherhood, specifically Fred, whom he knew would understand his plight having been rejected weeks earlier by a woman whom he'd thought liked him.

Rogue sighed and turned to Wanda, stating, "He'll get over it, Wanda. He just needs some time." She then motioned to John and Wanda to follow her out of the cell. As she approached the group she added, "We only have one more hallway, guys. Let's get it done so we can go and meet with tha other group and take down Apocalypse once and for all." The group sent up a cheer and, with Rogue, Wanda, and John leading the way they left hallway #21 and made their way over to the last one.

_**Hallway #28, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 3:57 AM**_

When the group, now twenty-three strong, entered hallway #28 they also found it to be bare of metal, just as it had been with the hallway where Lorna had been imprisoned. The Maximoff twins and Lorna looked at each other, knowing exactly why there was no metal in this hallway.

"He's here, isn't he?" Lorna asked her voice holding acid in every syllable. The rest of the Brotherhood understood her statement and, like Lorna got disgusted looks on their faces.

Wanda nodded and, creating a small ball of psychic fury in her hand, replied, "Yes, dear sister; our _beloved_ father Magneto is imprisoned in this hallway. But first…" she then threw the ball, mentally quadrupling its strength, at the bars of the cell closest the group. When the electricity and her ball collided smoke filled the air and swirled around the mutants, causing most to cough as it filled their lungs. Rogue quickly sent a tornado of wind at the smoke, causing it to dissipate.

Once the smoke had cleared, Piotr saw who was in the cell and, turning to the rest of the Brotherhood said, "Jason is in cell. We must rescue him, da?"

Opal sighed and replied, "I suppose, although I could do without his lack of control over his illusions, wouldn't you say?" At her words, the Brotherhood nodded sagely, knowing for a fact that their lives would be a lot smoother if Jason's illusory powers never bothered them again.

Todd spoke then, causing the rest of the Brotherhood to look at him. "We need to rescue him, yo. I know he'd do the same for any of us; Magneto not included, of course." Opal sighed and raised her hands, signaling that she didn't care one way or another. The other members nodded, knowing that Jason would indeed rescue him, even if he had to go against Magneto to do so. It was common knowledge among the Brotherhood members that Jason loathed Magneto with every ounce of life his body, with the origin of this hatred stemming from Magneto's blackmailing Jason to work for him and threatening the illusionist's family. Details such as this only appeared during drunken rants, and with Fred and Remy's practical immunity to alcohol a lot of blackmail material on the illusionist had been gathered over the years.

Piotr then moved towards Jason's cell, whose bars had been destroyed by Wanda's attack. After armoring up and moving so that he was behind him, Piotr carefully took hold of the collar and snapped it between his forefinger and thumb. He then removed the remains of said collar and threw it on the ground, where he ground it to dust. He then motioned to Aaron – who had deemed it safer for his health to follow Piotr and not Pietro – to heal Jason.

Aaron knelt in front of Jason and, carefully placing his hands on his face transferred his energy into Jason, being sure to get his physical injuries first before setting to work on the mental ones. Once Aaron was done, he got to his feet and retreated to the wall of the cell, allowing Piotr, who by now powered down to kneel in front of Jason.

Jason's eyes snapped open a moment later and he exclaimed, "We have to move! Mt. Vesuvius is going to erupt! I don't care if you say it's been dormant for over five hundred years because s going to explode now!" Jason then caught sight of Piotr in front of him and, bringing shaking hands up to his face, groaned. He looked at Piotr and asked, "What happened, Piotr?"

Piotr replied, "You were imaging your worst fears while a mutation inhibition collar was around neck. I freed you because we need your help. Apocalypse is back and we need all help we can get to beat him."

Jason shook his head to make sure he had heard correctly and on determining that he had indeed heard the Russian mutant correctly asked, "The ancient one is back?! But, but how?" Piotr shook his head, signifying that he had not a clue, and Jason continued, "He is a very powerful mutant, that much we do know. How many others are with us?"

Aaron stepped in and said, "Hi, um, Mastermind. I'm Aaron Harmon and I'm with the X-Men. From what I've learned Rogue and Remy are leading rescue missions to free everyone who's being held captive here on this asteroid and then we will go and beat Apocalypse into the ground."

Jason regarded Aaron, not sure if he could trust him but upon looking into Aaron's hazel eyes said, "You're a healer, aren't you?" When Aaron nodded yes, Jason motioned to Piotr to help him to his feet and continued, "I am grateful that you healed me and I can honestly say that if anyone else had told me the news Piotr told me I would not believe them. You, Aaron, are a different situation; you are a healer and it is a known fact that healers never lie. It does not befit them. Take me to Rogue and I will offer her my services." Jason shook Aaron's hand and left the cell.

Aaron looked at Piotr in surprise, not having expected Jason's words. Piotr grinned at this and said, "Jason is, how you would say, a little bizarre in some things." He then left the cell, Aaron right behind him, pondering the statement.

Meanwhile, Rogue had been trying to convince Lorna, Wanda, and Pietro to help her rescue Erik, who was by now screaming in utter agony, voice quickly going hoarse. Unfortunately, his screams didn't get through to his children, who stood just outside his cell, vowing not to help him. "Come on, guys! How many times do Ah have to tell yah tha' he's changed?! He was only workin' with Apocalypse to protect yah'll and yet yah turn your backs on him!" Rogue was getting frustrated; her emerald eyes were slowly turning a pale green, signifying that she was drawing on Ororo's powers.

Wanda snorted and replied, "Rogue, you try having to deal with a decade of emotional torture caused by your _loving_ father who was only trying to help you by putting you in a damn insane asylum when you were six. Then you tell me how you can free him from a punishment he deserves!"

Rogue opened her mouth to retort to remind Wanda that she had Mystique for a foster mother when Pietro added more kindling to the flames.

"Wanda's right, Rogue. He treated me like shit for years; when he got sick and tired of me he gave me up for adoption, using some sappy story about how he didn't have the money to care for me. Now that isn't what I'd call _fatherly_ love, would you?"

Rogue once more tried to get in a word but Lorna, in a move that shocked the Southern belle interrupted this time. In all the time that she'd known Lorna the emerald haired beauty had never interrupted someone when they were talking, wanting to hear all they said before making any type of judgment.

"They're right, Rogue. Magneto used my mom; he was with her for less than two years then left her flat, with me a year old and my sister not even a week old. He doesn't care about any of us; if he did then he wouldn't attack us every chance he got, trying to make sure we die so that we don't interfere with his master plans. To me, that doesn't sound like a real _father-figure_ to me; what about you?"

Rogue rubbed her head in a vain attempt to stop her headache and after a few moments exploded. "Ah don't care what yah'll say anymore! Yah don't have ta help meh rescue him; Ah'll do it mahself!" Rogue moved to break down the doors but before she even took a step, she felt a hand on each of her shoulders, one from Pietro and one from Wanda.

"Leave him alone, Rogue," Wanda whispered, Pietro and Lorna nodding in agreement. "He deserves it for what he put us through our whole lives." Wanda stared at Rogue, willing her to understand what she was saying and to agree to it.

Rogue looked at her friend and replied, "Absolutely not. He deserves a second chance; after all, Wanda, yah got a second chance at life because he needed yah; Pietro, he rescued yah from jail all those years ago when yah needed help and Lorna, he helped yah when yah were captured by the FOH by destroying their compound to get to yah. Yah were unconscious then, sugah, but he kept insisting that he needed ta rescue yah. Ah know he has a lot to answer for but then again so do all of us. Just help him. We need him to help us defeat Apocalypse." With these words, Rogue stepped back and walked towards the group of mutants, now including Jason, all of whom were watching the three young adults in front of Erik's cell.

After a few minutes, Pietro was the first to speak. "Rogue's right. We do need him to help us battle Apocalypse; maybe we should let him go. That's my vote; Lorna?"

Lorna pursed her lips and responded, "When I was captured by the FOH, I vaguely remember hearing a man shout that he had to rescue me, and now that I think about it the voice sounded a lot like Magneto's. I'm with Pietro; he deserves a second chance. Wanda?"

Wanda sighed; why did all the tough decisions come down to her? She thought for a moment and when she had made a decision opened her mouth to tell her siblings her answer when she felt John enter her mind. _'John, what are you doing?!'_

John, from his position next to Fred, replied, _'Helpin' you do the right thing, luv.'_

Wanda closed her eyes, causing her siblings to look at her strangely. _'You mean that I should just let him go free, his time not served when he deserves what he's getting?!'_

_'Oy didn' mean it like that. Oy meant that your dad does deserve to get punished, but not this way; no one deserves this. Besides, would it suit a goddess such as yourself to let a human being suffer for the sins of another?'_

'_You know, I think I liked you when you weren't all-knowing…'_

'_Funny, Wanda. Oy mean wot Oy said though. Just think 'bout it, 'kay?'_

Wanda nodded; further confusing Pietro and Lorna who, if honest with themselves, were unsure of what Wanda's actions meant. After a few minutes, Wanda opened her eyes again and, sighing in resignation, stated, "Let's get dear old father out of there."

Lorna grinned and, turning to the cell, placed out her hands, Wanda beside her, her own arms outstretched as well. Pietro stood back, not wanting to get caught in the fierce clash of powers and the automated defense system.

"Now!" Wanda commanded and she began drawing the electricity off the bars while Lorna concentrated on twisting and turning the bars into a piece of scrap iron. After a few moments Lorna pulled back her hands, dragging a rather large pile of iron along with her while Wanda took all of the electricity and molded it into a small cloud in her hands. Then, turning, both sisters threw their refuse into the cell that had played host to Jason not long ago. A nice explosion soothed frayed nerves.

"Pietro?" Lorna questioned, turning emerald eyes to the speedster. Pietro winked at her and in a mere minute had run into the cell, dismantled Erik's torture device, and thrown it onto the floor where Lorna and Wanda further disfigured it. Revenge was so nice, wasn't it?

"Rogue?" Wanda asked, turning to her friend who had walked back to the three siblings upon hearing Wanda's agreement to help her father. The Southern belle nodded and accessing Pietro's powers sped past a shocked Wanda. She then knelt in front of the Master of Magnetism and healed him, amazed at the depth of emotion the man felt for his family, not that she was invading his mind, of course. The thoughts were on the surface of his mind, easily accessible. Once done, she backed out of the cell only to receive a glare from her friend.

"Ah'll explain later," Rogue told Wanda, who continued to glare at her. However, her attention was diverted when Erik groaned. "Ah'll leave yah'll with him." Rogue then walked back to the group of mutants where the Brotherhood (not including John) was staring at Wanda, Pietro, and Lorna in disbelief, not believing that they went and freed the man who had made all their lives a living hell.

Lorna went inside the cell, followed by Wanda. Pietro joined them in front, three pairs of eyes glaring at the man who was just coming to. Erik once more groaned and this time his eyes fluttered open, revealing a haunted pair of eyes that widened when he looked up and saw his children in front of him.

"Wanda? Pietro? Polaris?" Erik whispered, not believing his eyes. They were all safe. They weren't being tortured and scarred; in fact, they were in front of him. "I can't believe that you're all safe,"

"No thanks to you, _Father_," Wanda interrupted, eyes glowing with anguish and anger. "You battled John and me and then imprisoned us in those miserable cells with torture devices!" Erik slowly got to his feet and found that he was just a few inches taller than Pietro; however, he felt two feet tall as he withered under the glares of his children.

"She's right, you know," Pietro said, his voice as cold as Erik's; perhaps colder. "You made us attack the Institute and made us fight our friends. You made me fight my girlfriend and I had to watch as you tortured her to death!" When he mentioned Lexie, he turned his eyes away from Erik's, not wanting to see the disappointment he had found so often there.

Lorna stepped forward and, lifting her chin said, "You may not know who I am, Magneto, but I know for a fact that you're my biological father. I'm Lorna Dane, and you left my mother with my sister and me just a few weeks after my baby sister was born. How dare you. It's a wonder that your children turned out the way they did when they have such an egomaniacal man as their father!" Lorna's eyes blazed with fury as she continued her rant. "When I found out you were my father I wanted to kill myself; after all, who would want to be your child?! Then, my boyfriend saved me by telling me that it isn't who your parents are that determines who you become; it's who you want to be. I vowed to not become like you, and I'm not. Just thought you'd like to know that you have two more children out there… _dad_." She then stepped back between Wanda and Pietro, who both put a hand on a shoulder, providing Erik a united front as his enemy.

Erik's eyes began to tear; in all the years that he had been reveling in his role as "Master of Magnetism" he had never really given a thought to the lives of his children. He had put Wanda away because he didn't want to deal with her emerging powers. The same was for Pietro when he gave him up to a foster family. Then, he thought back to Lorna's mother and what he had done to her; he had left her a few weeks after his second daughter by his second wife was born because he couldn't sense an X-gene in her. Disgusted, he had left her with a one-year-old Lorna (whom he had thought to possess an X-gene but he had sensed that it wasn't yet active) and a week old baby, his wife watching him go with teary eyes.

"I'm sorry… I know that I haven't been the best father in the world," began Erik but was interrupted when Pietro snorted at his father's words. Erik ignored it and continued, "When I was exploring the ruins underneath the Sphinx Apocalypse found me and demanded me to come and work for him. I refused, saying that I had people to care for – and I meant what I said, Pietro – but he then brought up images of the past that showed me how badly I'd treated all of you; how I'd crushed you time and again and let you down. I placed myself in Apocalypse's service to try to protect you. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to get you involved. Things quickly began to spiral out of control. I was forced to imprison you so that Apocalypse wouldn't get suspicious and kill you because I betrayed him. I don't know how often I have to say this but I'm sorry for what I've done. After this battle, I will do whatever is in my power to make it up to you and be the father you deserve." Erik then bowed from the waist down, giving his children a choice to make – either accept or reject him.

Wanda and Pietro looked at each other, not sure how to react to this. They then looked to Lorna, who had tears falling down her face. "I don't know what to think… to do," she whispered, the tears falling more rapidly down her face. Wanda felt the exact same way as Lorna did; however, she didn't show it. Pietro's face was devoid of expression.

"Let me see something," Wanda said and, walking forward, asked Erik, "Will you allow me access to your mind, Magneto?" Erik nodded yes without hesitation, and Wanda, after looking back at her siblings accessed her telepathic abilities, and delved into her father's mind, searching for the events that he had mentioned. What she found shocked her to the extent that her eyes flew open and she stumbled backwards, Pietro and Lorna catching her before she fell.

"Oh my god, he's telling the truth," Wanda murmured, her words causing Pietro and Lorna to look at her in shock. Wanda got to her feet again and, looking at her siblings repeated, "He's telling the truth; all he did in the last few years was to try and protect us. He knew about you and your sister Lorna; he knows all about you two. He feels guilty for how he treated us and he wants to help make it up to us. What the hell do we do now?!" Wanda felt like screaming; her mind was in turmoil as she absorbed what she had just learned about her father.

Pietro knew how his twin felt; he was feeling the exact same way. After a few moments of silence between the siblings he spoke, his voice deep and hoarse. "I think that we should give him his chance. He tried to give us all one but he hasn't done the best job. We should help him by letting him know we're willing to allow him to try to help us."

Lorna nodded and added, "Just knowing that he tried to make up for his past mistakes redeems himself in some aspects… not all," she hastily added on getting a look from Wanda. She continued, "But they tell me that he has changed; that he does want to help us and protect us as best he can. I think that we can trust him. Wanda, it's up to you." Lorna and Pietro both looked at Wanda, who once more felt the pressure to make a decision.

'What the hell do I do?!' Wanda thought angrily, her mind still a mess. Just when she was about to scream she heard John's words come back to her and on reflecting on them, she knew what she had to do. She turned back to her father, who was still bowing to his children. She walked to him and, putting a hand on his shoulder, said, "We accept your apology and accept your attempts at becoming our father once again."

Erik thought that Wanda's voice sounded more regal than usual but brushed it off as a side effect of her attempting to keep her emotions in check. He rose to his feet and, placing both hands on Wanda's shoulders, drew her into a hug, startling her. Wanda hesitatingly returned the favor, not sure if she was doing the right thing.

Erik then released her and moved on to Pietro, putting out a hand for him to shake. Pietro looked to Wanda, who nodded yes, and, feeling like he was doing the right thing, took Erik's hand, shaking it. Erik abruptly pulled him into a hug that almost choked him. Pietro, like Wanda, was hesitant to return the hug but did so, feeling a sense of peace in the process.

Erik then moved on to Lorna, who, after drying her tears, allowed him to hug her for the first time in years. Lorna closed her eyes, letting out a sigh of relief as a sense of peace enveloped her. She felt, for the first time in her life since her foster family had been alive, safe in the arms of a man who called himself her family.

Once Erik had finished hugging his children, he nodded to them to follow him, which they did, as he exited the cell. Rogue and the rest of the group looked up and when they saw Erik heading their way, Wanda, Pietro, and Lorna right behind them, they sighed in relief, glad to know that one of the most powerful mutants on the planet was on their side. However, the Brotherhood glared at Erik, not having forgiven him for what he had done to them in the past.

Rogue stepped forward and, holding out hand said, "Welcome back, Erik. Ah told yah that Ah'd vouch for yah, didn't Ah?" Erik stared at Rogue's bare hand and on seeing the Brotherhood watching him carefully, looking for signs of his next move, Erik nodded and took Rogue's hand, surprised when he didn't feel any drain on his body.

Erik then apologized and Rogue explained to Jason and Erik how to travel in the hallways. She then added, "Now that we've gotten ta everyone from hallways #17 ta #28 there's only one hallway left: Professor Xavier's. We're goin' ta meet up with Remy's group in front of tha door, go in, rescue him, and then go and battle Apocalypse. We will win!" Her group let out a cry of victory and left the hallway, Erik at the front with his children right behind him, letting him know that he had their support for the present and future.


	63. Reunification

**Disclaimer:** Currently achieving intermediate-plus status in hacking… rest of information classified…

_**A/N: **_Nice. It's only been like three weeks since my last update, an amazing accomplishment. I'm proud of myself, and this chapter, so I hope you enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 62: Reunification**

_**Outside Hallway #29, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 4:05 AM**_

As Rogue's group raced towards Xavier's cell (Lucas had commented that it was on the other side of the asteroid, upsetting the entire group who'd just spent hours running around the byzantine complex of hallways), she couldn't help but think about the odds of winning the upcoming battle. 'Ah'm not so sure if Lance, Kitty, Wanda, John, Remy, and Ah are goin' ta be able to defeat Apocalypse. Ah mean, Ah haven't even found tha last god and goddess! Ah can only hope that Remy's found 'em; otherwise, Ah don' know how much of a chance we have, and considerin' tha' it took the combined strength of the Brotherhood, X-Men, X-Factor, Morlocks and Acolytes ta defeat 'im last time, it's gonna be tough.'

Rogue was interrupted from her thoughts when her now eagle-trained eyes zoomed in on the edge of an eerily familiar trench coat, which flapped in a nonexistent breeze from around the next corner. Grinning, she motioned with her head to her group that the others were dead ahead, feeling the rush of emotions that resulted from this announcement. She then begun to run faster, the clacking of her boots muffled due to her powers wanting to be the first around the corner to surprise the trench coat's owner. As she spun around the corner she leapt into the air and tackled Remy, landing on his back with such force that he stumbled forward a few steps almost losing his balance. For good measure (and because she felt that she had to do it) she covered his eyes with her hands, grinning.

"Mon Dieu, what was dat?" Remy exclaimed causing pairs of curious eyes to turn in his direction. Upon on feeling the touch of a hand on his face, he smirked. Accessing his copy-cat ability, he shifted his molecules so that Rogue phased right through him but then made himself tangible to catch her in time before she hit the floor. Seeing Rogue glaring up at him, the emerald eyes that he was so in love with glittering he commented, "Did Remy's chère miss him?"

Rogue flipped Remy off as she quickly freed herself from Remy's hold. Brushing off her bomber jacket as if she had just come out of a dust-storm, she replied, "'Course not, Cajun. What would give yah tha' idea?" She sent him a small smile that told him otherwise, his grin widening to encompass his whole face at the exchange.

The pairs of curious eyes had by now gotten the rest of Remy's group to focus on the show taking place and all of the gathered mutants (and one Sorceress) had chuckled. After a minute, though, they had realized exactly whom they were seeing and many of them – mostly the X-Factor team – began planning ways to blackmail the Southern couple in a tried and true method of slipping out of the required chores that came with living at the Xavier Institute. Then their thoughts began wondering as to the distinct possibility of their captured teammates and friends heading their way. Remy had mentioned, after all, that he and Rogue had split up to save their compatriots, each taking a number of hallways and cells. Therefore, the chance that the missing mutants were just around the corner was too enticing a possibility to miss. As one, Remy's group began moving to look around the corner when the sound of running feet was heard. Careening around the corner in a mess of arms and legs, the missing mutants appeared, with Lucas Haller in the lead.

Lucas stopped and, glancing around, sensed that a lot of talking was going to erupt any moment as the two groups reunited. Thinking that it was the least he could do for Rogue's saving him from himself, he closed his eyes and as his aura flared a pale purple an invisible telepathic dome was erected. The dome would prevent anyone from hearing or seeing them in the hallway, and considering that Apocalypse and his remaining Horsemen were still at large, that was a good thing. Rogue nodded in thanks as Remy slung an arm around her shoulders, whispering with her furiously as to what he had found and, in some cases, not found.

Lance and Kitty, having taken up positions against a steel wall now found themselves feeling self-conscious at their new looks. So, in order to allay fears that no, they hadn't been turned evil, yes, they were still good and, no, Todd, they weren't aliens of any sort they told the second group what had happened. While this took place, the Brotherhood quietly apologized to Lance for believing that he had abandoned them for any reason; if he hadn't done so for so long, then why in the hell would he start now? The Brotherhood's guilt was so overwhelming that Lance and Kitty were able to smell it; therefore, it took them a good ten minutes to pound it into Lance's teammates' heads that they were not to blame for anything that had happened; not at all.

Unlike the Brotherhood, who eventually accepted Lance and Kitty's new looks with a heavy amount of trepidation, Kitty's students and Lorna didn't think much of her new look, all of them more used to seeing their teammates morph into different states at various times during the days, weeks, months, and so forth than the Brotherhood and Acolytes were.

"My stars and garters, they're all alright," Hank commented, relief evident in his voice and on his face. Logan and Ororo looked up from their private and whispered conversation eyes alert. They had isolated themselves from the rest of the group in order to talk about what had transpired in the hallway when Ororo had been saved... not that Logan had really wished to get into it. Ororo, on the other hand, had practically dragged him away from Hank to talk. Now, however, they looked up at their colleague's words and their eyes widened. Both were relieved to see that Rogue was safe (though, Logan could feel his claws itching to be released as he glimpsed the Cajun's arm around the young woman he considered a daughter), as were the rest of the mutants that she had rescued. However, when Logan caught sight of Erik, he lost his temper. Growling, he unsheathed his claws and marched towards the magnetic-wielder, an irate Ororo on his tail. Those in the Wolverine's way instantly moved backwards, creating an effect similar to the parting of the Red Sea in the Bible.

Erik looked up at the silence that had suddenly encompassed the hallway and, smiling weakly turned to face the shorter man. Offering a hand and a weak grin, he said, "Would you believe that I am on your side, Wolverine?" Rather than shake his hand (not that Erik believed Wolverine would ever do something like that) Wolverine pinned the older man to the wall, claws an inch from his jugular vein. He gulped nervously; this was not going the way he had thought it would.

"Sure, and I'm the Tooth Fairy," Logan snarled, using one of his favorite sarcastic phrases. Lance, who'd walked up when he saw Wolverine heading Magneto's way snorted, knowing that the phrase was Logan's way of saying hello. Logan was just preparing to push his claws into Erik's neck when he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.

"Shit," he muttered, swinging his head around just in time to see the pure white eyes of Storm. "Ro, calm down –" Logan never got to finish as a streak of electricity was sent into his body, his adamantium skeleton acting as a closed circuit and allowing it to travel at the speed of sound from one body part to another. If not for his healing factor, Logan would have died the moment the electricity impacted his body.

As this took place, the rest of the gathered mutants watched in shock, mouths open. Evan could only stare on in wonder, never imagining that his aunt would willingly do that to someone whom he knew she cared about a good bit.

After a few minutes, Ororo stopped the attack and stepped back a step, her eyes returning to their normal shade of blue. She crossed her arms and waited for Logan to turn around and face her, which he did as expected, the movement allowing for Erik to drop to the ground in a heap, face gradually regaining color as he was saved from almost certain death.

"Why did ya do that for, 'Ro?! I had him pinned; I had him where I've always wanted him! Damn it, why?" Logan snarled, retracting his claws as he turned to face Ororo, the words almost sounding like a... well, a whine. The rest of the mutants were watching the scene with baited interest, having never seen them fight like this. Usually fights broke out between Scott and Logan, Hank and Forge, Logan and Hank, Logan and Forge, Logan and Scott, or Scott and Jean; in other words, between every other adult except for Xavier, and certainly not Logan and Ororo. It'd never been conceivable enough to imagine the two adults fighting but here, in plain sight, was evidence that the two most certainly had their own views on things.

Ororo, eyebrow arched replied, "I trust him, Logan. If Rogue trusted him enough to bring him with her then he is on our side. If you try to harm him again, I will not be so lenient again. Is that understood?" Logan crossed his arms and, turning away jerked his head in the affirmative. Satisfied, Ororo turned to Erik, who had been watching the exchange with curious eyes. "Magneto, is it true that Apocalypse is back?"

Erik started at being spoken to and, straightening up to his full height replied, "My dear Storm, I am afraid that it is true. He is back and has his Horsemen, all of them ready to do his bidding. However, beyond that knowledge I know nothing." Erik frowned at this; he had been sure that he knew more than what he had just identified, considering that he had been forced to work closely with the ancient Egyptian mutant for years now. 'I am one hundred percent positive that I knew the identities of the four Horsemen, yet when I attempted to think about them I receive nothing but blackness and bright lights. Could it be that my memories have been deliberately tampered with in order to prevent my revealing anything? It is certainly possible, but how? When?'

Ororo turned back to Logan and, arching an eyebrow once more signaled that she expected him to apologize for his abrupt and unfounded attack on the Master of Magnetism. In reply, Logan growled, telling Ororo that he wouldn't do it. However, when he caught her eyes beginning to go white once more he sighed and grudgingly said, "Didn' almost mean to gut ya. Just stay away from me and we'll be fine." Logan then marched back to his place on the wall, Erik watching him go with a raised eyebrow with Ororo sighing in acceptance. That was probably as good of an apology as Magneto was going to get.

"Did Logan just apologize to Magneto?" Scott whispered to Hank, who nodded, shocked also at the display. Hank then smiled, revealing a small fang when he realized the reason that Logan had even backed down at all while Scott remained flabbergasted, the younger mutant not seeing the connections that Hank had seen for years now.

Ororo nodded at Erik in welcoming and, looking behind him, finally saw the rest of the rescued mutants from Rogue's group, amongst them the rest of the Brotherhood and Acolytes.

"It is good to see that all of you are alright; I was afraid that something had happened to you all." She inclined her head to show the Brotherhood and former Acolytes that she included them in her welcome and, smiling at them proceeded to walk towards where Logan was stationed. The clawed-mutant was currently muttering strings of curses, profanities and threats of varying natures while examining his claws, which were gleaming brightly in the hallway's dim lighting.

Alex, meanwhile, had taken it upon himself to search through Rogue's group for his girlfriend, whom he desperately missed. As he ducked underneath Lucid's arm (he was reaching towards Torpid, who had taken off running for Evan upon glimpsing him) he caught the barest edge of bright green hair. Standing up on his toes, he yelled, "Lorna!" He then ran towards her, excited that she was safe and sound.

Lorna, who had been talking to Pietro and Wanda about any item that caught her interest in an effort to get to know them, started on hearing her name yelled. Turning around, she saw Alex running towards her and, gasping, did the same. She reached him first and tackled him so hard that he fell to the ground, she landing on top of him. Erik glared at this but didn't do anything, knowing that it was not his place to do so. Later, however, he'd be talking with the younger Summers' brother about his intentions for Lorna… yes. Later was best.

Alex hugged Lorna to him, afraid that if he let go she'd vanish. As Lorna helped him to his feet, he crushed her to him again in yet another hug, sighing in relief. His girlfriend was safe and sound in his arms, his brother was fine and all of his team was together again… wait a minute. He pulled back from Lorna and asked, "Did you guys find Roberto?"

Lorna started, having not thought of the Brazilian mutant. She shook her head and replied, "No, I assumed that you'd all found him. You mean that he isn't with you?" When Alex shook his head in the negative, she groaned and slapped a hand to her head, muttering, "Just great. We so needed this like we needed a kick in the ass."

Alex chuckled and dryly replied, "We already got the last part, Lor." His smile then faded from his face and he continued, "We need to go and tell Bobby that Roberto's still missing. He needs to know." Lorna nodded and with Alex's arm on her shoulder, they walked over to where the rest of their team was standing, talking among themselves, the X-Sword team next to them, reveling in having found each other once more. The squeals from the rest of the X-Factor women told the story of the excitement running through their ranks now that they had another member back with them, safe and sound.

The Morlocks were by themselves, Lucid having dragged the rest of his small group of misfits over to Evan and Callisto to talk strategy. Meanwhile, Torpid was quickly relating to them how she had helped free Fred, how she'd convinced Lucid and Caliban to help Rogue (who was now one of her new best friends) battle Apocalypse. Dorian and Artie were ecstatic that their best friend Torpid was fine and were itching to tell her all about Jaime and his help and some useful pranking tips, all of which they were planning to play on Caliban and blame Evan... again. Leon had stealthily maneuvered his way over to where Todd was, scaring the amphibian mutant with a tap on the shoulder and, as a result, had been grabbed up in a group hug by the Brotherhood as a welcome back; Opal merely waved in greeting.

Wanda saw a flash of midnight blue hair out of the corner of her eye and, grinning, nudged Pietro, who looked at her angrily, having been focusing on his father, wary that he had an ulterior motive for joining "the good guys". "There's Lexie, Pie. Better go and see her before Wolverine sees you." Giving him a wink (something she never did and, if he was honest with himself freaked him out something fierce), she moved over to where Lance, Kitty, Rogue, and Remy were. The orange-haired pyro St. John followed her, the sound of a clicking lighter bringing a familiarity to the two mutants. Pietro glared at John's back as he followed Wanda, incensed when he saw the man's arm drape itself across Wanda's shoulder and shocked when she moved closer to him in reply.

Pietro continued to glare at the couple for a moment before remembering Lexie. Muttering curses against himself and his stupidity he sped through the large gathering of mutants to where Lexie was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, seemingly listening to her team's discussion on battle tactics. He stopped next to her and laid a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise and unsheathe her claws.

"Pietro," she whispered in shock as she took in the image of her boyfriend in front of her. Quickly retracting her claws, she jumped at him, catching him off guard. Pietro wrapped his arms around her, not caring who saw them. Lexie just stayed in his arms, feeling safe in Pietro's strong arms, the smell of his cologne calming her somewhat frazzled nerves. Yes, she got nervous, but not so much that she'd have a panic attack like Jubilee had had once when Bobby hadn't checked in during a mission in the Argentinean Jungle for a few days. She didn't notice her team watching them with open mouths, the Brotherhood doing the same. Those who knew (aka, the six gods and goddesses) grinned at each other, smirked a mile wide on each of their faces. They'd known all along about their friends being an item, but had kept the secret for not only Pietro and Lexie's sakes, but theirs as well. Being alive was better than being dead.

Jean, who had been sulking in a corner, upset that she had been usurped in her role as leader by mutants less experienced then her and their ill-mannered significant others saw Pietro and Lexie together and gasped. Running over to Scott, who was talking to Moira and Sean about just why they had been captured and thrown into cells on the asteroid, she exclaimed, "Quicksilver and Lexie are together!" Scott turned to her and stared, facial expression clearly communicating that he wasn't overly concerned with what his wife was telling him. He then turned back to Sean to finish his conversation but Jean didn't like this.

When Jean tried yet again to prove her point, Scott turned to her and responded, "I don't care right now, Jean! We have a battle to get through first and until that's done, nothing else matters!" He then went back to his conversation with Sean again, hoping that he'd made his point clear enough. In doing so, he left a shocked Jean in the wake of his words, and, hopefully, a thoughtful Jean who'd think through her options before opening her mouth again to badmouth another mutant.

Pietro and Lexie pulled out of their hug and Lexie was surprised when Pietro suddenly draped an arm over her, in public, where both their fathers could see (and boy, she knew that her father had seen the movement, as growling could be heard emanating from the burly mutant). He proceeded to pull her away from her shocked teammates to an unoccupied section of the steel wall, still within the boundaries of Lucas' dome. As he did so, he leant down and whispered, "I was worried about ya, Lex. I was afraid I'd lost my girl." Lexie didn't reply, too shocked to say anything to Pietro's words, the first she had ever heard from him that related to a commitment to a long-term relationship; then again, she was the same, having never really had one before. She merely placed a kiss on his cheek in thanks, deciding that if he could showcase their relationship in public she could do the same. In doing so, he looked at her, beyond shocked at her actions. Lexie merely smirked at him, her eyes telling him what she couldn't place in words.

Meanwhile, Rahne had also broken off from her team and had started to look for Roberto; therefore, it was understandable that she was surprised when she caught sight of Sean and Moira talking to Scott. Running over, she pushed the X-Men's leader aside roughly and pounced on her adoptive mother, hugging her tightly. "Moira! Ay didnae know tha' ye were here. If Ay had, Ay would have rescued ye!"

Moira hugged Rahne back, tears falling down her face as she replied, "Ay thought tha' ye were seriously hurt, Rahne. Ay wasn't sure if ye were even alive, and now tha' Ay know tha' ye're safe and sound Ay feel a heavy burden comin' off my shoulders." They stayed that way for a few moments, reveling in the physical contact that set their frazzled consciences at rest. Rahne then broke her hug with Moira to give Sean his own, which he warmly returned. Sean knew that the happiness he felt at being reunited with Moira was intensified because he could now say that his soon-to-be stepdaughter was safe and sound. If honest with himself, he thought of Rahne as his own flesh and blood, despite the facts that he and Moira weren't even wed yet and Rahne was, legally, Moira's adopted daughter.

Rahne pulled away and, wiping the stray tears from her eyes looked around the gathered mutants, eyes narrowed. She looked at Moira and asked, "Have ye seen Roberto? Ay cannae find him anywhere!"

Erik, who'd been walking around the gathered mutants (and, as a result, further away from an incensed Wolverine) just happened to hear her request and stopped, his mind churning. Something was returning to him. He moved over to Rahne and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to wheel around in surprise. She barred her teeth, shifting into her werewolf form quickly; she hadn't seen or heard the interaction between Erik, Logan, and Ororo earlier and her instincts were telling her that this man was dangerous and powerful, meaning that he was a threat that had to be negated.

"Do not fear me, Wolfsbane. I think I know what happened to your Roberto," Erik said softly, hoping to instill a small amount of trust in the were-mutant. However, his voice ended up being loud enough to catch the attention of Lance and Kitty. The two looked at each other and, nodding, pushed their way towards the gathering of mutants; the movement caused the rest of those present to turn their attention to Lance and Kitty. On their heels, John, Wanda, Remy, and Rogue followed, garnering even more attention. Lance, having decided to once more take charge of the Brotherhood and, in the process, show Magneto that he now outranked him crossed his arms, his claws threatening to grow longer without his express permission did so. He stared at Erik, his wings folded in front of him, eyes holding coldness to them that Erik never knew Lance had in him.

"So, you have more information that you didn't give us earlier, is that right?" Lance asked, his tail moving behind him in an angry rhythm, outmatched only by the furious expression in Lance's eyes. Erik gulped; never had he imagined that Lance would be alive and staring him down... and actually winning. However, never one to back down, Erik steeled his expression and defended himself.

"Earlier, Avalanche, my memory banks were unresponsive and, in many cases, inaccessible. I had no clear recollection of whom Apocalypse had chosen to be his Horsemen. However, when Wolfsbane mentioned her "Roberto" my memories began to clear up until I saw the four of them in a line, all with wicked looks on their faces." Here Erik paused, wondering if he should tell them who the Horsemen were, or if it was wise to do so. However, when Wanda stepped up beside Lance and glared at her father he relented, noting how weak he was now when it came to his children, something he would not have accepted years ago. Now, oddly enough, he welcomed it.

Erik opened his mouth to reply to his daughter's nonverbal suggestion that he stop "beating around the bush" and tell what he knew when Kitty stepped in front of him, eyes alert. Erik watched, fascinated, as she moved her now pointed ears around, picking up on the auditory waves from approaching footsteps.

"We need to go inside the Professor's cell, and quickly. Someone's coming our way." Lance did his own surveillance and agreed with Kitty's words, his look telling Erik that they'd finish the conversation about Apocalypse's Horsemen later.

Looking at each other, then at Remy and Rogue, Kitty said, "Listen: we need to split into three groups so that no one is left out here as a scapegoat. After we dismantle the shield on the door, I'll take in the first group of mutants; Remy will take the second and Rogue the third. We need to move quickly before our unexpected guests arrive. Lucas, if you would be so kind?"

Lucas nodded and, motioning everyone to be quiet, he dismantled his soundproof dome so he'd have full access to his powers and moved towards the door. However, just as he was about to fire one of his energy beams; Erik laid a hand on his shoulder and shook his head no. Lucas stared at him, eyes flashing until Erik tersely explained, "This cell is only accessible by myself or anyone whom I have commanded to allow inside with me. Anyone else who tries to get inside will be burned to a crisp. Allow me." Erik then moved towards the door, his hands at his sides. Just when he was a mere inch away from the shield that guarded it he brought up a hand and, putting it on the shield said, "I am Magneto, Master of Magnetism, and I hereby give you a portion of my power so that you may allow myself and all of my compatriots access to this hallway." Erik narrowed his eyes and sent a blast of magnetic energy at the shield, which caused it to sputter and fade until it was nonexistent.

Everyone watched him with shock, not having expected this kind of challenge for the last hallway. When Erik turned to them and nodded at Kitty, signifying that it was safe to continue, she shot him a small smile before turning to the mutants. Mentally, she told the large gathering to quickly arrange themselves into three groups to be led into the hallway.

When done, Kitty noticed with amusement that the mutants had spilt into their teams or stayed with those they knew best. Her group contained Lance, Lucas, Warren, Betsy, and the X-Sword team, the latter of which was looking nervous, not at all sure if they could take on Apocalypse and live to tell the tale. Remy had Wanda, John, the Brotherhood, Acolytes, Amanda, and the rest of the elder X-Men, with Jean still pondering just what her husband had meant, exactly, while Logan and Ororo were once more at the end of the group, talking quietly with each other. From her viewpoint, it seemed that Ororo had a light blush on her cheeks, with Logan grinning. It was obvious to the phaser that her clawed instructor had placed the blush on Ororo's face and was damn proud of his accomplishment; the grin told the tale

Finally, Rogue had all of the X-Factor team, Sean, Moira, Forge, and the Morlocks, the latter with Rogue because of Torpid's insistence and Evan's silent plan to give his aunt and Wolverine more time together. Forge was glaring at Logan's back, not at all happy to see that Ororo was slowly but surely falling for Wolverine, knowing that she should be falling for _him_.

Kitty then motioned everyone to be quiet and as she explained the process mentally, she took Lance's hand. Tugging on it, she took a deep breath and dove into the door, sending her power down the line of mutants. She phased her group through the door successfully, communicating her excitement mentally to the other two group leaders. Remy and his group followed, with most of his group in shock at the fact that Remy could phase. Rogue's group was last and though everyone made it safely, Evan later confided that he had had to threaten Callisto and the rest of the Morlocks (read: Lucid and Caliban) to touch X-Factor's outstretched hands. Only the threat of death spurred the Morlocks into action, something which Evan wasn't pleased to have experienced.

Once everyone was inside of the hallway, Erik stepped up to the door and reversed the process from earlier. A hum of power was soon heard, stronger than before with the order that only Erik was allowed to enter the hallway; no one else was allowed, especially not Apocalypse. The extra power was shielded by the use of a power level monitor, which Erik set at the same level as previously to stave off suspicions. The gathered mutants then turned their attention to one of the most important tasks left to complete: rescue Professor Charles Xavier.


	64. Rescuing Professor Xavier

**Disclaimer:** Damn, I lost my allowance for hacking classes; anyone have any cash?

_**A/N: **_Okay, so it's only been something like two months. Nonetheless, much better than six months of a respite, so thanks for being patient and enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 63: Rescuing Professor Xavier**

_**Hallway #29, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 4:35 AM**_

Once everyone was inside Hallway #29, they were shocked that the pathway to Xavier's cell appeared clear. Granted, those who had been playing the roles of rescuer were wary. There _had _to be something there that they were missing... but what?

"This is excellent!" Bobby declared eyes glinting. "Rescuing the Professor'll be a piece of cake." He snapped his fingers to emphasize his point. Ray cocked an eyebrow, absolutely astounded that his team leader was this naïve… then again, he realized, Bobby was always like this.

"In case you're forgetting, _**Sir**_, the Professor is only like the most powerful telepath in the world!" Ray said countering Bobby's statement. X-Factor sighed, used by now to the seemingly endless arguments between the two young men. "Why in the hell would he be undefended?"

Bobby's mind blanked but he soon had an answer for his friend. "Because we're the best and no one can beat us?" Jubilee slapped her forehead in exasperation while the Brotherhood and Acolytes snickered. Blushing, Bobby snapped, "Well, then, prove me wrong!"

"Gladly," Jason replied and, closing his eyes he moved his hands in front of him, muttering some kind of chant. Upon receiving an odd look from the X-Sword Team, Leon and Opal sighed simultaneously.

"He likes to freak people out," Leon explained embarrassed that one of his team members was currently acting like a weirdo.

"We just ignore him," Opal added buffing her fingernails on her shirt absently.

After a few moments, Jason's eyes glowed bright blue and with a snap of his fingers a small array of obstacles appeared, causing a myriad of groans and curses to erupt from the mutants.

"Great, this is _so _what we need, an obstacle course," Bobby muttered sarcastically, glaring out of the corner of his eye at Erik. In Bobby's mind, it was obvious that Magneto had constructed it; otherwise, how in the hell would Mastermind have known it was there? He cursed as Jubilee hit him and asked, "What was that for, Jubes?"

Jubilee glared at him and replied, "For not remembering that we've encountered worse; this is going to be easy!" She then turned to Erik and asked, "Did you build this obstacle course yourself?"

Erik looked at the co-commander of the X-Factor and replied, "Unfortunately, Jubilation, I did not create this course. Apocalypse and his Horsemen must have done so while I was imprisoned and the rescues were taking place." Upon receiving odd looks from X-Sword, he further explained, "Apocalypse has the capability of manipulating time and space to his liking. It is entirely plausible that he could have created this obstacle course in a matter of hours; minutes, even, if determined enough."

Logan cursed and, turning to Remy asked, "Now what, Cajun?"

Remy turned to look at his fellow divine beings, eyes narrowed. After telepathically consulting with the others – Rogue in particular – he turned to Logan and, grinning lopsidedly replied, "We will go through it, bien sur."

Rogue nudged him hard, to which she got a wounded look that she pointedly ignored, despite the added puppy eyes he gave her. Deciding that she'd rather have her boyfriend in one piece, she took Remy's place as messenger and clarified, "We'll go through this like we do in tha Danger Room, 'cept in teams so tha' we can learn how ta get through with tha least amount of injury. Tha' fine with yah'll?" Upon getting nods of approval, she smiled and, turning to Lance, motioned him forward.

Lance stepped forward and volunteered Kitty and himself as the official guinea pigs. He added, "You guys'll watch us and study what we do carefully so that when you go there shouldn't be any nasty surprises. You ready, Kit-Kat?" Seeing his girlfriend's rather predatory smirk, he returned the favor and at his signal they unfurled their wings, ignoring the gasps and curses from everyone on seeing them reach their full wingspan of twelve feet from left to right.

Lance and Kitty stretched their wings a bit, getting used to how they moved and at a hidden signal took to the air. Circling the large group of mutants to get used to the sensation of flight, they moved quickly, maneuvering through the course as if it was merely water. The course consisted of metal arrows that flew out of the wall at any sign of movement, the tips coated in both a sleeping agent and a deadly poison; the two flyers dodged the arrows neatly. Next, two large metal fists came out of the wall, meeting in the middle; their quick movement almost ended up with Kitty's wings getting crushed but Lance pulled her out in time. Thirdly, a shield barrier manifested itself, causing the two mutants to halt in midair to examine the situation. Upon brainstorming an idea, they lengthened their claws and tore through the shield only to end up facing a wall that had a small opening at the top for people climbing over it. As Kitty slipped through, deadly metal spikes suddenly appeared, catching Lance's trench coat but not the male mutant himself who was phased through by his girlfriend.

The last obstacle was a magnetic field that somehow disabled Lance and Kitty's ability to fly, but rather than panic the two landed neatly and smirked at each other. They soon became a blur as the accessed their super-speed and sped past all of the metal disks and laser beams that attempted to target and kill them to reach the other side, where they stopped and caught their breath. Rather stupid grins covered their face as the adrenaline rush took over.

"Did you all see that?" Lance called back, and on hearing a rather loud and vehement curse from Logan grinned at Kitty. "They got it."

"Obviously," she grinned back glad that Lance had come up with the plan for them to go through first so that the others could see how the course operated.

Kitty closed her eyes and contacted Wanda telepathically. _'Do you guys have a game plan for getting through the course?'_

_'Well, Kitty, let's see… only a few of us can fly; Pietro, Remy, and Rogue are the only ones with super-speed; and we don't have all of your amazing abilities… so no, I don't have a plan.'_ Sarcasm dripped from each word.

Kitty relayed Wanda's answer to Lance who frowned, trying to think of a solution to the problem. He snapped his fingers, and, jumping into the telepathic conversation said, '_Here's what you do: two large groups, with Lorna and Erik split up. Pietro and Remy go into one group, Rogue in the other. Toss Ororo, Tyne, and Brittany with Rogue's group and you, Sean, and Warren in the other. Move quickly and tell the group leaders – Ororo for one and Bobby for the other – to listen for directions on how to get through the course with minimal injuries and loss of time. That way, we'll get it done quickly. Sound good?'_

Wanda relayed the message to John, Remy and Rogue who, after a brief discussion nodded in agreement. Wanda took command off the large group of mutants – despite some mild protests that were quickly dealt with – and spilt them into groups. The end results were: Ororo's group contained the elder X-Men, Amanda, Erik, Rogue, Tyne, Brittany, the Brotherhood, Acolytes, and the Morlocks while Bobby's contained Remy, Forge, Warren, Betsy, Wanda, John, Sean, Moira, the X-Factor and X-Sword teams.

She ignored the mumbling of rebellion from some of the X-Factor members and sent a glare at Jean, who had opened her mouth to complain about the team arrangements, particularly the fact that she wasn't helping to lead. Deciding to prove how serious she was that her orders be followed, her hand lit up with a flare of blue magic, at which Jean gulped and decided it was better to perform a tactical retreat on this issue.

At Lance's command, Ororo's group took off, with the Weather Witch and Tyne in eagle form providing aerial reconnaissance. Britt translated her team leader's squawks into understandable words.

As they came upon the darts, Erik threw out his arms, eyes narrowed in concentration. A rather large and powerful magnetic shield emerged to block all of the arrows from hitting their marks. It was a different kind of feeling, many thought, to be protected by Magneto's magnetic shield rather than fight against it. Piotr, who'd once more donned his armor and Fred ran on the outside of the group to ensure that no darts made it past the shield or them to harm the others.

The second obstacle had Ororo asking Jean to hold the metal fists back long enough for the others to get through, and as the redhead did this she was surprised to see Piotr and Fred helping her out, to ensure that she wasn't harmed.

'Maybe I was wrong about them,' the powerful telepath thought to herself some of the seemingly endless anger she'd been harboring evaporating.

As they came upon the shield barrier, Opal shot bullets of adamantium out of her fingers as Logan cut through with his claws, enabling the group to move through it and onto the next obstacle without a problem.

When they reached the giant wall, Lance told Ororo that unless they wanted to risk puncture wounds by metal spikes, another method had to be found, plus there was no way in hell that Fred and Piotr would be able to fit through the opening. Kitty jumped into the conversation and told the two large mutants to rush the wall, which they did and created a large opening that the rest of the group ran through in no time at all. What shocked the team was that once they were all through, the wall rebuilt itself, closing the hole so that it seemed as if it had never existed.

'Devious,' Lance thought admiringly, hating to admit that Apocalypse's genius was shining. 'Brilliant, even.'

The final obstacle reared up and even though Erik tried for minutes to shut down the magnetic field, nothing worked, not even when sweat poured down his face. Erik finally gave up, muttering a few curses in Yiddish, causing raised eyebrows all around. Thinking quickly, Kitty suggested that Ororo and Rogue combine their powers to create a wind barrier that would allow the group to pass through the barrier unscathed. As the barrier was formed, Amanda chanted a few small incantations and sent her powers into the barrier, strengthening it even more. Kitty's plan worked as the mutant group ran through the magnetic field, breathing a sigh of relief as they reached the other side, exchanging high-fives in the process. Now, group two had to make their move.

Bobby's team ran into the course, and as her father had done, Lorna used her powers to stop the metal arrows from hitting the mutants on the ground. Warren provided air support, his own metal feathers knocking any stray arrows away from Lorna's face so as to protect her and the rest of the mutants.

The metal fists were easily destroyed by a combination attack from Tabby and Sam, both of whom smirked as metal parts flew away from them thanks to Lorna. However, once the group was past this obstacle, they were shocked as the metal fists rebuilt themselves as the wall had done previously, shocking the two blonds.

The shield appeared in front of them without warning, with Lexie taking to the front line. Her adamantium claws glistened as they attacked the shield, with Jubilee, Amara, and Ray providing support. After a few minutes the shield flickered and died, allowing the group to head through it.

They then encountered the wall and, realizing that it would rebuild itself after any attack that struck it, the group paused to think of a strategy. John snapped his fingers and, stepping up to the plate called on flames that flickered into existence from out of nowhere. Of course, to those who knew that he needed fuel cells and lighters to create fire felt their jaws hitting the ground at John's actions.

Smirking wildly, John threw massive fireballs at the wall, aiming for the same spot where Fred and Piotr had rammed the wall previously. After a few minutes, a ragged hole opened up, to which Bobby whooped in excitement. Running past John, he donned his ice armor and sent large streams of frozen liquid at the hole, creating an ice arch. This way, something was holding the arch up, preventing the wall from reforming and also serving double duty to ensure that hot metal wouldn't drip onto the mutants. He then ushered the team through, waiting until everyone was accounted for previous to his running underneath his creation. Not minutes after he successfully emerged onto the other side of the wall, the ice arch cracked and the wall reformed.

The magnetic field, like it had done with Erik prevented Lorna's powers from being of use. However, Betsy discovered a simple solution to getting through the field without a massive amount of wasted time. Seeing how big of a shadow the group cast together she closed her eyes and, concentrating, moved them all through the shadows until they ended up in front of Lance, Kitty, and the first group. As she opened her eyes she ended up leaning against Warren, her energy spent at the large task that she'd just completed. Aaron, figuring that it was the least he could do gave her a bit of his own energy, to which he got a large smile of thanks from the British telepath.

Lance and Kitty, smirking, gave each other high-fives on a job well done, to which the rest of the mutants smiled in return. Turning, the large group of mutants headed towards Xavier's cell, which was much larger than the others. However, it contained more things than just the Professor; a large machine was placed against the steel wall, wires and buttons flashing everywhere. A headband of some sort was fashioned onto his head. Xavier's eyes were closed and he appeared to be concentrating on something.

"Professor!" Jean yelled, moving to run to her mentor. Scott's grip on her wrist, however, had her stopping suddenly. Turning around, she had some nasty words on the tip of her tongue before she saw her husband shake his head and point towards Erik, who was striding towards the cell eyes expressionless.

Erik stopped in front of the cell and without turning around stated, "There is a shield in place around Charles that keeps anyone without the capability to manipulate magnetic fields out. I made sure of this myself." Raising his hands, he placed them on the bars of the cell, which glowed pale purple, showing the location of the shield of which he had just spoken. Closing his eyes, he concentrated and slowly dismantled the shield. Once done, he tore a hole in the metal bars and moved so that he was standing next to Xavier, sorrow on his features.

"I'm sorry, Charles, for having done this to you," Erik said manipulating the metal headset off of the Professor while destroying the machine as well. The black flames that erupted were quickly snuffed out by John.

Rogue stepped forward and, kneeling in front of Xavier reached out with both hands to touch his temples. Closing her eyes, she transferred her energy to the man who had made such a difference in not only her life, but others as well. Once done, she stepped back to give him some breathing room, only to retreat into Remy's open arms after a moment of thought, drawing comfort from him as she did so.

After a few moments of baited silence, Xavier groaned and, lifting a hand to his head, opened his eyes only to see his former friend Erik, minus the helmet – which he had personally always thought a bit ridiculous – kneeling in front of him, sapphire eyes haunted with guilt.

"Magnus?" Xavier asked not sure if what he was seeing was actually true... and hoping that it wasn't a dream.

"Charles, it has been a long time since we were in a position like this, am I correct?" Erik spoke, and upon seeing Xavier nod in response continued, "I am here to say that we need to combine forces to defeat the ultimate evil. The Ancient One has returned and is planning to continue that which he began a decade ago. The difference this time is that we are at full strength and can battle him as one large team." He paused then plowed on, "I must also confess that I was originally part of his plan, with my task being that I was to somehow give him the necessary keys to turn humans into mutants as the Eye of Ages is not present in this timeline. Therefore, I stole the plans to Cerebro in an effort to please, but no more. I vow to attempt to see possibilities for human-mutant co-existence... or, at the very least, not attempt to rule the world once more. We must defeat Apocalypse now, no matter the cost." Erik looked at Xavier, willing him to believe him, and when Xavier, with tears in his eyes, reached for Erik's hand and shook it firmly Erik smiled the lines and worries from previous years vanishing.

"It is good to have you back, old friend," Xavier said, ecstatic that he had his best friend back. He then watched as Erik got to his feet and stepped out of the way only to reveal yet another surprise: Legion. His son looked like he'd rather be anywhere else than in front of him, something which Xavier was, in all honesty, not that surprised at believing.

"Legion?" Xavier questioned, head tilted to the side out of curiosity.

Lucas looked up at hearing his name and responded, "Aye, it's me. Ay'm, well, Ay'm sorry for all tha' Ay did to ye and mum… just wanted to say tha' Ay'm not angry with ye anymore. Ay'm angrier at meself for lettin' tha' Egyptian reject influence me for the good part of ten years. Ay, Ay hope tha' ye can forgive me." Lucas then bowed his head, allowing Xavier the opportunity to see that he was bowing down not only to his wisdom and power, but the Professor's status as his father, something which Xavier had been positive he'd never see in this lifetime.

Xavier slowly moved his wheelchair over to Lucas and, placing his hands in their customary "steeple" position declared, "Of course I forgive you, Legion. I am just glad to know that you have seen the error of your ways and decided to live the life I knew you could always live." Lucas' head shot up at these words and when he saw his father smiling warmly at him grinned back and it was in this way that father and son made up, with the request that he be called "Lucas" instead of "Legion" readily agreed upon.

Xavier then turned around and as he wheeled outside of the cell was shocked to see the large coalition of mutants waiting to welcome him back. They were even all awaiting his orders; even Callisto and her Morlocks, with Evan at the head, were waiting for the words they knew he would say.

"I am glad to see that everyone, no matter their team affiliation, is safe and sound. We must move quickly; Apocalypse is going to strike soon and we need to soundly defeat him before his plans succeed." Xavier's smile faltered when he saw that the X-Factor team wasn't complete. Rolling over to Bobby, concern shining in his eyes he asked, "Bobby, I don't sense Roberto among your ranks. Where is he?"

X-Factor looked at each other and at some type of silent signal parted to let Rahne walk through, the Scottish mutant's accent thick. Tears still shone in her eyes. She looked the Professor before turning away, fists clenched at her sides so tightly that the iron tang of blood could be smelt.

"The thing is, Professor, that we do nae have any idea where Roberto is." Rahne's tightly clenched fists were beginning to shake from the amount of pressure that she was putting onto them.

Xavier frowned, eyebrows furrowing at this news. Concerned, he opened his mouth to make a statement about not giving up hope when Bobby stepped forward. Laying a reassuring hand on his teammate's shoulder he turned and stated, "Professor, we think that Magneto knows who the Horsemen are, so maybe he knows where Roberto is." Xavier looked over at Erik, who merely nodded in agreement with Bobby's statement. The older man walked over to Xavier, standing at his side to show that he was willing to submit himself to telepathic inquiry if necessary, a sign of sincerity in Jean's book.

"Robert is right," Erik said, gathering the attention of every mutant present. "My memory banks, though fuzzy earlier are now clear and from them I have knowledge concerning the identities of the Four Horsemen." Every mutant gathered, even the Morlocks were leaning forward in interest.

Erik took a deep breath before continuing, "The Horseman of Famine was Legion." At this, every head except four swiveled over to look at Lucas, who was ashamedly looking at his shoes. "He has broken free of Apocalypse's control," Erik persisted, ignoring the looks that swept from him to Lucas, "and is now a valuable partner in our battle. He helped rescue over half of you and defended you from danger in the hallways, leading you around this byzantine maze as if it was the back of his hand. For that, you should be more than grateful."

Lucas, deciding that it was about time he spoke out in his own defense stated, "It's true, Ay was the Horseman of Famine; however, Gambit and Rogue helped free me from Apocalypse's control. They deserve all the credit." Lucas then moved to Xavier's other side, supporting his father and all the wheelchair-bound man stood for with the simple action.

After that little spat was resolved (for the most part), Erik continued his speech. "The second Horseman, War, is Sabretooth. I have learned that Apocalypse resurrected him after Lance managed to kill him days, even weeks ago." At this information, Lance got incredulous looks, attesting to the fact that they now all held new respect for the ground-manipulator.

Erik's voice hardened as he named the next Horseman. "The third Horseman, Pestilence, is Mystique, turned only days ago."

Kurt and Rogue groaned, slapping hands to their foreheads simultaneously.

"Again?" Kurt mumbled, not at all surprised by this fact. Rogue sighed blowing a strand of hair out of her face in annoyance. Irony was such a big part of their lives nowadays that it wasn't surprising that Mystique was a Horseman once more.

Erik ignored the outbursts and continued, "The final Horseman, Death, is –"

The metal manipulator was interrupted by a sharp laugh, followed by the 'twang' of a metal arrow tipped in poison. Lorna, acting quickly managed to stop the arrow inches from her father's face. Following the arrow's supposed trajectory, the mutants turned away and faces turned to disbelief, shock, fear and anger.

"I do hope that you're talking about me, traitor," growled the Horseman of Death as he stood in front of the large crowd of mutants. Two black balls with flecks of orange and red revolving around them were positioned in his hands, both of them pulsing with energy. His face held both white eyes and mouth, the latter of which was currently twisted into a confident smirk.

Out of all the various teams, X-Factor was the most shocked at whom they were seeing, many of them rubbing their eyes in disbelief, hoping that it was merely an illusion. However, Rahne conveyed their feelings best when she pushed her way through the group of shocked mutants and stood at the front of them, tears rolling down her face.

"Roberto?" she asked, voice wavering with fear and shock at seeing her boyfriend in front of her, yet hearing her instincts screaming that the figure in front of her was **not**Roberto da Costa.

The Horseman spat on the ground, a small hole appearing where the refuse had landed, the action surprising those who saw it. Looking up, his eyes flashed bright orange and he snarled, "There is no Roberto here. There is merely the Horseman of Death."


	65. The Horseman of Death

**Disclaimer: **Inflation's caused the price of hacking classes to skyrocket… pocket change anyone?

**A/N:** Okay, so when I redid this chapter it kind of got away from me. I warn you now, there shall be cursing and violence galore here, and it gets dark in many places. This chapter fought me tooth and nail, but I'm pleased with the results. Enjoy!

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

'_blah…' _-telepathy/what people say mentally

**Chapter 64: The Horseman of Death**

_**Hallway #29, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 5:00 AM**_

The Horseman of Death, for he could no longer be called Roberto da Costa, a.k.a. Sunspot in the realm of codenames glared at the pathetic and quite pitiful group of people in front of him. He snorted as he caught the shocked looks that came from some of the mutants, the look of sorrow from the man in the wheelchair, and, of course, he reveled in the fear that emanated from what he supposed was his former team.

Head tilted, Death proceeded to bounce one of his balls of flames up and down, smirking when several sets of eyes followed the motion, all of them obviously scared that he was going to launch an attack at them at any moment. His eyes kept flitting back to a young woman with dark red hair in a braid and wide, sorrowful emerald eyes.

Despite this unnatural interest in one woman (and really, she wasn't even that pretty. There were so many other hot women standing before him that Death was extremely tempted to grab one and run off with her), he knew that his Lord and Master would have his head on a gold platter inlaid with rubies and emeralds if he strayed from the plan.

_'My servant, do continue with the show.'_

The Horseman of Death bounced the ball of flames in his hand once more, having dissolved the second one earlier before smirking. Moving around, he looked for a suitable target… and soon found him.

"Traitor!" Death sent the ball of flame towards his target, the former Horseman of Famine, sending a glare at Legion, who stood to the left of the man in the wheelchair. "Master Apocalypse has ordered me to destroy you and your pitiful rescue group before he initiates his plans! Make it easy on yourself and surrender!"

Reacting quickly, Legion threw up a psychic barrier around not only himself but those with him, to ensure that no one was injured. The Horseman's attack slammed into the barrier, which shimmered a violent shade of purple. Legion's arms strained with the effort of the attack, no longer having the strength from Apocalypse to draw upon and enhance his powers. Of course, Legion was beyond glad that he was no longer a sycophant to that ancient Egyptian monstrosity, so he felt the price was small to pay.

Death was not pleased that his attack was being foiled; therefore, he conjured another ball of fire and launched it at the former Horseman, a rather mad grin on his face. Legion's feet slid back a few inches as the other mutants finally came out of their stupors at seeing a once-ally attack them and began to join Legion in reinforcing the barrier. Pyro formed a layer of thin, orange flames behind the purple barrier, the colors blending together. Avalanche, Magneto and Polaris seemed to share the same wavelength as they ripped pieces of metal off the surrounding wall and sent them at the Horseman, who nimbly dodged them while continuing to send two streams of flame at the barrier. The other mutants began powering up only to be halted when the Horseman's attack suddenly ceased.

"You are all mere children," Death mocked as he did a backflip to launch himself into the air. "That was merely a small; even miniscule really, taste of my power, and a former Horseman was unable to do anything to stop it. Pathetic, really."

Legion threw out a hand to forestall any movement towards the obviously psychotic mutant and, maintaining the barrier proceeded to stare at his opponent. The first thing that he felt was outright pity. He felt sorry for the man who had been unwillingly brainwashed into serving Apocalypse's plans when he was almost positive that all the man desired was to escape the prison and return to his loved ones. It was certainly a dream that he himself had once harbored long ago, before the horrible confrontation with his father, Cyclops and Phoenix.

Next, Legion felt anger. He was, to use a plebian term, pissed off at this man. Did he not have the internal willpower to fight off Apocalypse's mental intrusions? Of course, Legion deftly ignored the small voice in his head – which sounded like David – that mocked him, stating that he had been under the mutant's control for a good ten years and just where had his inner strength been then?

Thirdly, his gaze was drawn to the younger of the two red-haired, green-eyed women, the one with the haunted look in her eyes. 'Must be tha lass he fancies.' He felt sympathy for her; after all, she had hoped to be reunited with her beau just as the others had, but instead found herself facing someone who was a deformed monster of the man that she loved.

Deciding to do _something_ instead of just standing around gawking like a plebian, Legion cleared his throat and spoke. "Roberto, ye've been brainwashed by Apocalypse inta servin' his plans; he will discard ye when he's done. Why are ye with him?"

The Horseman started and snarled in reply. "My name is Death! This Roberto no longer exists; he is gone! My Lord is not using me; I am the finest of his Horseman; the most beloved and so he will allow me to rule by his side when he has taken control of the world!" Death formed a smaller, more intense-appearing fire ball, bouncing it from palm to palm. He continued, "Of course, you would know nothing of loyalty, hmm?"

Without warning, Death launched a slew of dark orange and white fireballs at Legion, smirking. However, he had forgotten that the barrier was still active, and was reminded of this when a purple light shone from in front of Legion. To add to his frustration, a fire shield of some sort was also present… and was currently changing its shape to attack him.

"Damn!" Death cursed as he did another set of backflips to send himself flying in the air and, crossing his arms over his chest released a stream of white fire which impacted with the fire shield. When the resulting steam vanished, Death found a slew of psionic darts heading his way. He dodged them in the air, shooting one of them down with a smirk. Looking downwards, he saw the traitor preparing another attack. Thinking he would do the same, Death began to gather a collection of solar rays in his hands.

Of course, Death's flaw in this situation was that he wasn't paying attention to the other insects below him. Too focused on killing the traitor per Apocalypse's orders, a red haze covered his vision. Therefore, he was figuratively and literally shocked when a stream of hot electricity struck him in the back, his arms jolting out from him without his say-so.

Storm, having noticed the Horseman's distraction decided to take him out before anyone else got hurt. Partly, she also felt a bit responsible for this mess, as she had been a Horseman all those years ago and, yet, in the time since she'd found no way to insure that the mutant was vanished forever. Therefore, she felt it her responsibility to save Roberto the guilt that still lived with her years after the event had passed.

As Storm shot a smaller stream of electricity at the Horseman, tears dripped down her face for the action, one that she had sworn she'd never have to take with any student. "I'm sorry, Roberto, but this is the only way I can think of to save you."

Death screamed in pain, a sound that had Storm wincing in sympathy, but she kept her concentration. She then added a torrential downpour to the electricity hoping beyond hope that she would be able to smother the flames that now continually surrounded the Horseman.

Unfortunately for Storm, Death was playing her like a well-oiled fiddle. In one swift move, he dove for the ground, out of range of the weather-witch's attacks and, turning sharply flew upwards, smirking at the shock and fear that flashed across her face. She tried to manipulate the wind currents so that she could escape but Death was too quick for her; in fact, he read her movements. He rammed his shoulder into her back, relishing in the shriek of pain that he heard.

Storm couldn't believe the amount of pain that she was feeling; had Roberto always been this powerful? Had she just never noticed beforehand? Storm's powers suddenly gave out on her, and as she fell towards the ground she wondered if she would crash, or even, miracle of miracles, regain even a modicum of control over her wind manipulation powers to make a difference. She closed her eyes in anticipation of a crash, but felt something catch her.

Death frowned. Damn, but if his fun hadn't been snatched from him just like that! The wench's head hadn't even broken open; such a waste! And really, who in the hell wore their hair like that anymore? The man looked like a fashion reject!

"'Ro!" Wolverine exclaimed as he ran and pushed off the ground, surprising many with his willingness to do such a thing. Legion's barrier split as the man leapt through and then closed once he was back inside. The Wolverine caught the weather-witch in his arms, bracing himself for a rough landing, his adamantium skeleton making up for the sudden jarring that he felt as he came into contact with the steel floor. Looking at the injured woman, Wolverine felt anger beyond anything he had felt before, even when he'd been with Yuriko all those years ago. A hand reached out and fingered a strand of white hair gently (thankfully, it was hidden from prying eyes, except for Lexie, who smirked knowingly) and proceeded to glare at the Sunspot, who was alternately scowling and celebrating in the air at his defeat of the weather witch.

"Monsieur Wolverine?" asked an accented voice and the adamantium-laced mutant turned around and acknowledged Gambit, whose red-on-black eyes were looking at him oddly. "Est-ce que vous voulez que j'aide Stormy?"

Wolverine paused for a moment before curtly nodding, not saying anything verbal in reply. Gambit removed a glove and placed his hand on the back of Storm's neck, a light red energy surrounding the area. Almost instantaneously Death's wound healed and her eyes fluttered open, a weak smile sent as thanks to both men for their aid in rescuing her.

"Chuck?" Wolverine growled turning to face the physically-handicapped man after helping place the newly-healed weather witch on her feet. Wolverine deftly ignored the smells and feelings of fear and betrayal emanating from X-Factor, telling himself that it'd do no good to have himself distracted; not when there was a homicidal mutant floating feet above them.

Xavier glanced over at the instructor, his gaze calm and belaying the certainty that shone in his charcoal orbs, the reassurance that Sunspot would be rescued. Wolverine smirked in reply.

After a moment, Xavier moved to the front of the pack of mutants, yet took care to remain behind Legion and Pyro's protective barrier. Magneto was right behind him, his helmet under his arm, ready to be placed on his head at a moment's notice. Cyclops stepped right behind his mentor, nodding briefly at his former enemy. The show of support was to advise the rest of the mutants that teamwork was going to be absolutely necessary to rescue the mind-controlled mutant. Death darkly chuckled at the sight.

"Roberto, I know that you are still somewhere in there. If you hear me show me that you know I'm talking to you," Xavier said, eyes calmly taking in the sight of his student playing, once again, with a ball of fire. Upon getting no response, Xavier sighed. "I'm sorry to do this, Roberto, but you have left me no choice."

The most powerful telepath in the world prepared to dive into Sunspot's mind, his hands in their customary position on his temples. However, the gathering of mutants leapt in fear and shock when after a moment a heart-wrenching scream emanated from the telepath, his black eyes automatically closing in response to the intense mental pain he was under.

"Charles!" Magneto cried and, ignoring the risk to himself placed his helmet on the telepath's head, cursing when the scream only lessened; it didn't stop. "Why isn't it working?"

Mastermind stepped up beside his employer and, at one time, friend and remarked quietly, "Charles doesn't have magnetic capabilities. Your powers, plus the properties of the helmet were what made it impossible for him to use his telepathic powers on you in the past. All we can hope for now is that the properties of the helmet block some of the damage from which the Professor is suffering." Magneto's eyes clouded over in anger but Mastermind, sensing what the former arch-villain of the X-Men wished to do placed a hand on Erik's shoulder, halting any rash movements from the man.

"We must think logically in a time like this, in order to prevent anything untoward from happening." Mastermind nodded towards Legion, whose attention was obviously split between his father and the maintenance of the psychic barrier; Pyro had no such qualms, though his eyes were snapping furiously, with his flames reacting in kind.

Magneto took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, garnering an amused look from Mastermind. "Very well. I'll help Charles as best I can, but we must have a contingency plan to free him." A casual wave towards the Horseman of Death was laced with anger and, to an eagle-eye, fear. Fear that he may never get the full opportunity to truly apologize to his long-time friend for over two decades' worth of trouble and misery, and fear that he wouldn't live to fully mend ties with his estranged children.

"Legion, we need your help," Mastermind quietly stated waving a hand in the Horseman's direction, eyes dimly glowing. 'Hopefully, Death will believe that the barrier is still up; Pyro seems determined to protect us, so that helps.'

Legion curtly nodded before exchanging a look with Pyro, silently giving him control of the barrier before dropping his addition. Running over to his father, Legion kneeled and placed his hands on Xavier's temple, eyes closing in concentration. Sweat soon began to show on the younger man's face, alarming Magneto and Mastermind; Cyclops had been beckoned back to his team to attempt to concoct a plan to save Roberto da Costa.

"Well?"

"Quiet!" Legion snapped opening an eye enough to glare at the Master of Magnetism. "Ay need quiet."

"Good luck with that," Mastermind snorted sarcasm dripping.

Meanwhile, the mutant teams had simultaneously decided that the only way of retrieving Roberto was going to be physically injuring him. Therefore, Cyclops and the Phoenix launched a double attack, only to duck when a stream of white fire was shot in retaliation. Both managed to survive that attack, only to fall under Death's formidable combination of martial arts moves, ones that they both recognized. However, the realization that the moves were ones practiced by the Wolverine during his morning katas on the front lawn of the mansion came too late; the two powerful mutants were downed with a few hits.

"Now!" A slew of aerial attacks were launched at Death from ArchAngel, Psylocke (by use of her telekinetic abilities), Avalanche and Shadowcat, yet the four could only watch in dismay as Death neatly dodged each of them, madly cackling as he did so. Ground support from the Scarlet Witch, Rogue and Gambit were reflected back at their creators, causing them to roll away, furthering the distance between them and Death while making their target that much harder to hit.

"Is this all you have?" Death sneered, laughing as he flew quickly towards the four aerial mutants and, avoiding a grip from Avalanche managed to get his hands on Shadowcat's wings. Smirking, he ignored the howl of anger from Avalanche and proceeded to spin Shadowcat around and around, the smirk widening at the slightly paler skin tone that appeared on the gargoyle-like creature. Finally deciding that he'd had enough of that, he let go of Shadowcat and watched in satisfaction as she flew towards Avalanche, who managed to catch her… yet, due to the sudden weight fell from the sky, his wings only doing so much to soften a landing.

Death then turned his attention to the other two aerial mutants, eyes narrowing. ArchAngel's eyes narrowed in return and for a moment, it seemed as if a testosterone fight was taking place in mid-air, the stunned silence only interrupted by the sound of the metal-winged mutant's feathers hitting each other. Psylocke, rolling her eyes at the immaturity displayed in front of her had an idea and, without notifying ArchAngel silently slipped into her own shadow. As the purple-haired telepath traveled through the shadows, a handful of dark purple psychic knives took shape, ready to pierce their target.

"Fool!" Death hissed as he broke eye contact with the blue-skinned, metal-winged freak. Glancing around, he smirked when he sensed a disturbance. Creating a dark black fireball, he turned around and rammed the attack into the small shadow hole that had just appeared. A scream emanated out of it, scaring ArchAngel out of his mind.

"Did you really think that you could outsmart a Horseman?" Death mocked pulling his arm back from the hole, dragging Psylocke, whose right shoulder now sported a rather deep cut. Drips of blood fell towards the ground, the dark red spooking other mutants below who were spellbound by what was occurring above them.

"Betsy!" ArchAngel called out eyes widening. Death smirked as he created another, smaller ball of fire and launched it at the metal-winged angel, who dodged it with ease, his expression bordering on murderous. "Let her go now!"

Death's smirk widened. "If you insist." With that, he flung the injured Psylocke away from him and she began a downwards plummet, her friends below crying out in alarm.

"No!" ArchAngel shot a stream of poisonous metal feathers at Death before going into a suicidal-type nosedive, arms at his side. Death dodged the attack, cursing when a thin stream of dark poison managed to touch his hand briefly. Luckily for him, the poison burned up quickly.

"You shall pay," Death muttered as he placed his hands together much as Meltdown did to form her larger "cherry bombs" (… not that Death had any memory of this) and drew them apart slowly, a ball of dark fire appearing. Taking aim, he bounced the ball into the air and launched it towards ArchAngel with his foot, forcibly reminding X-Factor of their teammate's adoration of soccer.

ArchAngel's scream of pain was milk and honey to Death, who cackled madly. His attack had hit the winged mutant between the shoulder blades, singing the back of his neck. Skin burning, ArchAngel did his best to focus his attention on the falling Psylocke, whose eyes were open and panicked. He sensed that she was attempting to telekinetically catch herself to slow her fall, but her powers were failing her.

"Take my hand!" ArchAngel exclaimed reaching out a uniform-clad arm and Psylocke just managed to grab it before she faded into unconsciousness. Pulling her into his arms, ArchAngel curled his body around his fiancée and managed to do a bastardized version of a tuck-and-roll, a tactic that Xavier had taught him a few years ago when he'd asked for some help in his training. His arm and left knee hit the steel floor harshly, causing him to cry out in pain.

'At least Betsy's okay,' ArchAngel thought as he looked at the woman that he considered one of, if not the most, beautiful in the world. ArchAngel struggled to get to his feet but hissed in pain when he realized that he had somehow banged up his left knee so badly that he couldn't put any weight on the leg. Cursing his luck, he looked around him, searching for help yet the only person he saw heading his way was Healer, with Vine on his heels.

'The healing-brat… hmm. I think that I need to deal with him quickly…'

Death tossed a slew of fireballs towards Healer, who managed to dodge a few before uncharacteristically stumbling. The next fireball hit his side, eliciting a hiss of pain. Healer tried to catch his balance but Death, sick of staying in the air, did an abrupt dive to the ground and slammed a fist into Healer's back. Vine, who'd skidded to a stop at Death's appearance attempted to launch an attack in retaliation for his friend but was forced back by a heat wave.

"No one will be healed now." Healer fell forward, a large burn mark signifying where he'd been hit in the center of his back. Death then turned his attention to ArchAngel, who was still struggling to get to his feet. Snorting, Death aimed another fireball at the mutant and grinned when the winged freak fell to his knees once more, the woman in his arms. As ArchAngel collapsed, Death could hear his Master's modest applause; his ego grew.

Death sensed another attack coming and did a backflip to launch himself in the air, dodging the stream of dark red energy that was sent his way. Cyclops had staggered back to his feet after being dealt the series of martial arts moves; he had the bruises on his face to prove it. He sent stream after stream of optic energy at the Horseman, who nimbly dodged every one. Irritated, Cyclops made a decision, one that he knew he rarely chose to do. Wincing, he took of his visor and, opening his eyes unleashed the full extent of his powers at the Horseman. Death cursed as he was hit head-on, having not anticipated such a strong attack; so strong, in fact, that he was pushed back a few feet in mid-air.

Cheers rose up from the other mutants, many thinking that the battle had been won. Cyclops closed his eyes after a moment, streams of faint energy still escaping his eyelids; of course, this move, while necessary for Cyclops wasn't for the Horseman. Death had taken the time to form a barrier of sorts around his fists, diving into the vortex of optic energy. Cyclops' vision had been filled with red – literally – and so he hadn't seen the move; Phoenix, however, had.

"Scott!" Phoenix called out the sleeve of her arm torn at the shoulder and the arm itself covered in black-and-blue bruises; her other arm was cradled against her chest. "Look out!"

"What?" Cyclops questioned a hand covering his eyes. The rest of his question was cut off when the Horseman slammed into the leader of the X-Men, sending him flying ten feet into the air only to land on the steel floor with a loud 'bang'. Moira, who was nearby watching the events unfold with fear ran over and checked his pulse, nodding slightly at Phoenix, reassuring her that her husband was alive. Unfortunately, he was unconscious.

"You will pay." Phoenix got to her feet and, despite the pain in her injured arm called up reserves of psychic energy, hoping to make a dent in the Horseman's defense. Unfortunately, Death's pseudo-fire barrier managed to repel the majority of the attack, leaving it to hit its creator with the force of a freight train. Phoenix let out a cry as she was flung backwards as well, another crack emanating from her body, this time from the opposite arm. The Blob caught the flying woman and, at Moira's signal laid her down gently next to Cyclops. Two of the more powerful X-Men leaders were down for the count… now what?

Death was pleased. Things were going his way; now, who was his next target going to be? Ah… there.

Gambit and Rogue were dodging Death's fire attacks, having witnessed how dangerous they were and, really, it was only prudent to try avoiding getting hit by them. Burns of any degree weren't fun!

"Merde!" Gambit's curse became a favorite word of the moment, as it was repeated multiple times. Dodging a fireball, Gambit flung a handful of playing cards at the Horseman, a sharp magenta glow surrounding them. Rogue, meanwhile, was having an easier time than her partner as, thanks to some of her new powers she was able to reflect the attacks back at their creator, similar to what Legion had been doing earlier.

"How's he doin'?" she yelled at the quartet of men and at Mastermind's subtle nod she cursed. 'Damn it, tha Professeh's still out of it!'

"Chère, dis ain't workin'," Remy commented drawing a dry laugh out of the Mississippi native. She sent a tunnel of wind at Death, who mocked the move by creating a funnel of flames in return. What he didn't expect was Gambit to send a stream of kinetically-charged water at the Horseman, who cursed when he felt some of the liquid from the attack hit his shoulder. Steam instantly rose from the contact.

Death arched an eyebrow and chuckled darkly, impressed that a ground attack had had the power and stamina to reach him far up in the air. Deciding to retaliate swiftly and with the power to equal those he considered somewhat worthy the Horseman created a large array of different-sized fireballs, each burning with varying degrees of strength. Taking aim, he shot them at the southern couple at once, a mad grin working its way on his face.

Gambit and Rogue started when they saw the attack coming, but one look at each other told them what they needed to know. They waited for the exact time and when it came they both ducked, allowing a wave of bright orange flames to shoot over their heads and engulf the Horseman's attack.

"Merci, Johnny," Gambit commented reaching inside his trench coat for another deck of playing cards. Pyro, who'd long given up on the barrier as the bloody Horseman was focused on taking out individuals instead of large groups of people shrugged.

"'s okay, Rems. Oy was gettin' bored anyhow."

Death frowned; he hadn't been expecting the man with orange hair to block his attack but as he ran through his mind for strategies he found one that suited his tastes. Flying higher in the air, Death put his hands together and drew them apart in quick, slashing movements, creating a series of curved, scimitar-like fire blades. Then, slashing his arm once more, Death sent a solar ray at the blades, fusing them together into a rather large hurricane that spun towards the three ground-bound mutants, licks of flame moving around the outside of the behemoth.

"Pathetic," Pyro crowed lighting his hands with bright white fireballs, the intensity causing Gambit and Rogue to step back a few inches. Evidently, Pyro felt the need to fight fire with fire… literally. At a subtle signal, many of the other mutants stepped backwards as well, afraid that they were going to be negatively affected by the eminent firefight.

Pyro smirked before sending his own fire attack upwards, the flames switching between various hues of white and blue, indicating just how burning hot they really were. What Pyro didn't see, however, was the smirk on Death's face. If he had seen said smirk, perhaps Pyro would have been wiser; alas, he did not see the change in facial expression.

The Horseman prided himself on thinking at least two steps ahead of the fire-wielding, quite insane man below, and to prove his worth to his Lord and Master – who was watching the entire performance, bemused – he charged directly into his own attack.

As Death sped through his hurricane, he encountered the defensive move sent by his opponent and, although he felt some miniscule burns on his face from the attack the Horseman made it through the unprecedented path and immersed himself in pleasantries as to the praise that his Lord and Master would heap on him on a job well done.

What Death didn't count on was that Pyro was not stupid; far from it. He was actually quite intelligent, and like any space-conscious human being Pyro had noted that the flames were getting bigger while simultaneously growing hotter. Then, figuring out what the Horseman must be doing his smirk dropped and he silently cursed. 'Just my bloody luck.'

'Guess this is as good a time as any to test out the new powers.' A very serious look moved onto Pyro's face as he drew his hands together, bringing his flames into a more focused field. Concentrating, he separated part of the flames, spinning said fire around him in a fast-moving, rotating circle.

Just as Death's visage appeared in the flames, Pyro smirked and with a flash disappeared. Those who had known Pyro before were left speechless; Gambit and Rogue smirked and began launching attacks at the Horseman, who was now close enough to the ground that other mutants began attacking him as well.

Death was not happy. He grunted from the brunt of the attacks and, as he had done previously launched himself into a set of back flips with the eventual goal of regaining his advantage in the air; of course, the ability to dodge other attacks was nice too.

However, just as Death was going to launch himself into the air a pair of armored boots hit him in the back of his head, allowing him to end up face-to-face with the steel floor.

"Nice one!" Blob hollered cheering like many of the mutants, most of whom were ecstatic to think that the Horseman was finally down for the count. Pyro preened a bit; Rogue frowned.

"Pyro –" Rogue began but was stonewalled when the Horseman's hand came up and grabbed the flame-manipulator by his ankle, yanking hard. She moved to help her fellow deity but Gambit's hand on her shoulder arrested her movement.

"Not hard enough," Death drawled eyes narrowing. Rather than give up, Pyro proceeded to shoot a ball of flames at the Horseman's face head-on, but frowned when nothing happened. The Horseman burst into laughter. He then threw Pyro into the air a few feet and, launching himself into the air grabbed his arms and wrenched them behind the Australian's back, ignoring the intake of pain he heard.

"_What fools these mortals be,_" the Horseman mocked, shaking his head sadly. He was obviously upset at the turn of luck, what with his ability to turn the tables so that he was now in charge. If Pyro had ended up higher up in the air, the attack might have worked. Too bad for him, though, that he didn't take the time or energy to plan that far ahead. Oh well; more's the pity for him.

"Nice try, mortal," Death sneered, reveling in the pained, soft hiss that he heard from his prey. He moved the arms backwards even more, smirking when a yelp of pain fell on his ears like a soft melody. "I'm bored of you." With that, the Horseman spun his prey around in a circle once before launching himself towards the ground; Pyro, too in pain from the strict hold the Horseman had had on his arms was unable to do anything. When he landed, the crash was so loud that it caused Legion to glance up briefly from his attempts to help his father back to the present reality, a worried look flitting across his face before fading back into seriousness.

The Scarlet Witch, who'd been watching the fight with bated breath, realized that she could no longer stand on the sidelines… not that she had wished to in the first place. It had been decided earlier that she'd be on back-up, and now she was most definitely needed.

Running over to the fallen body of her boyfriend, she placed her fingers on his neck and breathed a bit more easily at finding his pulse. Then, glaring at the smirking Horseman she got to her feet and began chanting a short spell, eyes glowing silver.

"Eat dust, Sunspot!" the woman screamed, a rather large ball of magical energy on course for Death, set to the Horseman's heat signal (a nifty trick that Agatha Harkess had showed her previous to her mentor's unexpected death two years previous). As the attack moved towards the Horseman, said male instantly sensed the hidden trap in it and frowned.

'Damn her. That throws a wrench into my plans. Then again…'

The Horseman smirked and, taking stock of his current condition proceeded to charge directly towards the attack, ignoring the surprised shouts of alarm from below, those watching wondering just what was going through the Horseman's mind.

The Scarlet Witch watched in amazement, not sure what was going on… but when she realized what he was doing cursed. Death was flying toward her attack so that he could move around it and lead it straight towards her, pulling up at the last second. That was such an amateur move; easily recognized by someone who had extensively studied various attack formations for years.

"Your plan won't work!" the Scarlet Witch screamed, and, concentrating, chanted another spell, this one in a different language than the first and much longer. Her right arm spun into an arc in the air, followed by her left arm, leading to the creation of two silver threads. Snapping her fingers, the threads began to move to surround her, creating a net of protection. As an added bonus, the Witch knew that if she was to widen the range of the net, she could easily transport people with her… for a price, of course. Nothing came for free anymore.

As the Scarlet Witch let out a deep breath, she chanted yet another spell, this one harsh and guttural. She then vanished in a flash of silver light, causing Death's movement to slightly stall. Unfortunately, the Scarlet Witch ended up in the air a few feet behind Death, the mispronunciation of one syllable not doing anything good for her. She was aware of none of this, however, as she was coming off the slight magical high caused by her using the mystical net.

"Wanda! Look out!" Shot screamed alerting her fellow Brotherhood members to the Witch's plight. Before they could eve n begin to try to save their fellow member, however, Death spun around and flew towards the Witch, the acceleration that he used forcing the Scarlet Witch forward, her balance and concentration lost. However, before the Witch began to fall the movement was halted by Death grabbing the collar of her jacket, a wide smirk covering his face.

"What a witch you are, my pretty. Shall I have some fun with you?" Death leered eyes staying unnervingly open. The Scarlet Witch glared at him and spit in his face, causing a hiss to sound from the Horseman.

"Bitch. You shall pay for that offense." Death frowned and, after thinking for a millisecond grinned. The grin did nothing to sooth the Scarlet Witch's nerves, which were starting to become even more frayed. Out of desperation, she threw an extremely potent hex at the Horseman, only to gape as he tossed it aside as if it was a fly. Just at that moment, Death smirked eerily, causing goosebumps to race up her skin.

"Enjoy your new hell, mi'lady." Death threw the Scarlet Witch behind him, grinning at the screams that met his ears. Death hadn't forgotten the spell that had been sent his way and, deciding to make the bitch suffer the same fate that she would have allowed him he had done the only logical thing available to him at the time. He'd thrown the sorceress into her own spell, grinning when the paralysis spell took effect, knocking her unconscious to boot. As the black-haired woman began her descent to the ground, Gambit sprinted towards her and, copying what Wolverine had previously done jumped and managed to catch the Witch's limp body. Every bit the thief with cat-like reflexes, Gambit managed to land on his feet.

Just as he moved to put the Scarlet Witch on the ground, Gambit heard Rogue yell out a warning about the Horseman. However, before he could even turn around Gambit felt what he believed to be flames licking the back of his neck. He hissed in pain as he felt a rock-solid punch connect between his neck and spine, and the crack of a vertebra told him that this was not good news. The smell of burnt skin didn't do wonders for him either.

Gambit fell forward to his knees and, eyes rolling back into his head fell forward, unconsciously shifting his body so that he landed beside the Scarlet Witch and not on top of her. Rogue's muffled scream of horror was the last thing that Gambit heard before his consciousness faded.

The Southern Belle was pissed. She had just watched this, this _monster_ take out almost ten mutants single-handedly and wasn't even tired. There should be _something_ there indicating exhaustion, yet there was nothing. It was as if he had just entered the fight… could there be something more than meets the eye?

'Focus on tha' later, sugah. Right now, Remy needs yah.' Rogue's focus became single-minded as she landed on the ground and, ripping off her gloves with her teeth placed then where the Horseman had hit him and started to heal him. However, Rogue forgot to look around her surroundings for danger as she usually did, her emotions taking over what was normally a routine _modus operandi_ for her. Therefore, she never sensed the hit that came her way, aimed at her shoulder.

As the cross-chop made contact, pain flooded Rogue's senses, overloading her mind and pushing her to struggle that much harder to finish healing Gambit so that she would have an ally on her side.

"You'll never succeed," Death promised as he sent a stream of black flames at Rogue, who turned around and shot optic beams out of her eyes, drawing upon her memories of Cyclops' powers. Death, not expecting this at all hissed as the attack hit him, but soon recovered, scaring Rogue even more with his uncharted perseverance.

"Such spirit… we could have fun," Death mused smirk widening on his face. "However, the Master would be displeased with me for taking his fun away… so you'll have to accompany me later to his Throne Room." The Horseman then proceeded to fling yet another wave of black flames at Rogue, this time successfully hitting his target. The volcanic heat overwhelmed an already mentally exhausted Rogue; as she fell into the void, she thought that she felt Gambit stirring beneath her, but when no further movement was felt, she concluded that it had been her imagination.

As the Horseman moved to claim his prize, a torrent of flame-tipped bone spears landed between him and the unconscious Southern couple.

"Morlocks, watch your backs, and attack!" Spyke commanded, drawing the small group of Morlocks around him. Callisto's one present eye narrowed in thought as she calculated the best form of attack, all the while sending a handful of poison-lanced daggers towards the Horseman, intermixed with Spyke's bone spears.

"Wretches!" Death hissed eyes darkening. Ignoring the oncoming onslaught of the blue-furred doctor and the mechanical genius, Death took to the air once again, not even noticing the 'crash' that signaled the collision of Beast and Forge, both of whom had been unable to stop in time. The collision had the other mutants wincing in sympathy.

"Shit!" Spyke exclaimed when the Horseman caught one of his spears and snapped it in half, as if it hadn't even existed. Exhaling, Spyke tried to come up with a viable plan, but was thrown off task when the Horseman wheeled towards him, spinning as he flew and creating, in essence, a human flame of sorts, its target the gathering of sewer-dwellers.

Spyke threw up a bone shield, hoping that it would be enough to protect his friends and himself; Callisto took the time to finger a poisoned dagger and leap over the barricade, the sharp point glinting in the harsh fluorescent light provided in the room. The Horseman, unfortunately, saw this attack coming from a mile away and, reacting quickly grabbed the woman's ankle. Callisto faltered, her moment um and power thrown off balance as the pain from the Horseman's touch burned through her clothing.

"Showtime." Death proceeded to spin the eye-patched woman around him, moving at extremely quick speeds. Once he deemed her sufficiently confused, he proceeded to let go, the momentum causing Callisto to go flying towards the Morlocks. Lucid and Façade were lucky to catch the woman, but the force at which she'd been flung caused them to falter and tumble to the ground, the pain too much for the normally unflappable Callisto to handle. To her, it felt like she was burning alive, what with her smoldering ankle and the other burnt areas where the Horseman had dared to touch her while he spun her.

Leech, sensing that he was one of the few fighters amongst the Morlocks left stepped forward and, closing his eyes held out his hands and tried to find that spark that represented a mutant's power. Ignoring the majority of the sparks he saw in his mind's eye, he found one that was tainted a dark black, its normal orange and white turning into shadows of their once bright selves.

However, nothing was working, and despite numerous attempts Leech found to his horror that his powers were unresponsive. Unbeknownst to him, Apocalypse remembered his earlier defeat well, and as a result had installed inhibitors against Leech's powers in all of his Horseman; just in case.

"Something's blocking me!" Leech yelled, eyes flashing open in panic. Spyke cursed turning his anger onto the once-more smirking Horseman.

Artie – who as of yet had no codename – stepped forward and, eyes narrowing spit a torrent of dark purple venom at the Horseman, smirking with his forked tongue slightly protruding as the target was hit. The Horseman hissed in pain and, spinning around narrowed his eyes.

Artie's reptilian eyes widened as a fire hurricane was sent his way and he leapt to the side, narrowly missing being burned to death. However, he wasn't so lucky the next time. Death launched a wave of fire at the two young Morlocks, smirking when his target was dead-on. Leech and Artie screamed, the smell of burning skin making Torpid cringe in fear.

As the two young mutants collapsed, unconscious, Spyke's anger grew. He stepped forward and, readying an arm full of his signature bone spikes launched them at the Horseman. Death caught a handful of them and wiggled them back and forth in front of an irate Morlock. As he opened his mouth to mock the other mutant Spyke suddenly smirked and snapped his fingers. The spikes glowed bright red before exploding in the Horseman's face, causing him to scream in pain.

"Score for the Spyke-man!" Spyke crowed, pumping his fist in the air in victory. He didn't see the Horseman emerging through the smoke, scowl firmly in place. The wounds on his face were healing as he moved, black blood drying on his face. Spyke's eyes widened as he finally caught sight of the Horseman flying his way. He moved to procure a bone spike for defense but the Horseman reached him first, head-butting him in the stomach in the process.

Spyke coughed up some blood, eyes going wide in disbelief. The spiked-Morlock fell to his knees, arms moving to cradle his burned stomach. After a few seconds, Spyke fell to the ground, eyes closing in pain. Storm's anguished yell cut through the chaos that erupted amongst the remaining mutants, all of them totally shocked that one mutant had done that much damage without any help from anyone.

Torpid, backing up slowly realized that she and Caliban were the only mutants left. However, gathering her courage she slowly moved towards the Horseman, who was gloating over his latest defeat. As Torpid drew off her glove, the Horseman suddenly spun around and grabbed her arm, catching her off guard.

"Think you can sneak up on me, you little whore?" Death snarled and, switching his hand grabbed the front of her shirt and threw her towards a wall. Luckily for Torpid, Caliban intercepted her, grunting as he adjusted his balance to accommodate the sudden increase in weight. Torpid shot him a weak smile before wiggling out of his arms, running towards her fallen comrades; Caliban followed resignedly.

As the Horseman turned his attention to the rest of the gathered mutants, the two conscious Morlocks began to gently move the fallen fighters somewhere safe.

"Alright then," Death said dusting his hands absently. "Who's next?"


End file.
